101 Dalmatians II: Black and White
by Designation M
Summary: *Sequel to the Bite. It has been six months since the plot of Cruella de Vil was foiled. The Pongo's and their 99 puppies have lived and prospered in their home ever since. But now a new adversity emerges to threaten them and their new family. Not just them but all dogs everywhere, their children, and the ones yet to be born.
1. Introduction

**101 Dalmatians II**

**I - Introduction**

* * *

Six months it has been since the Radcliff's and the 101 have departed from their old home and unto their new one in Devon. And they have prospered and lived in peace ever since.

Rightfully so, the 101 had hoped that the worst of all their troubles were behind them, that there would be no more surprises and no more wicked men to disrupt their lives.

Little did they know that their life was about to take a drastic turn, one of which if they should return in one piece, they'd never be the same.

* * *

"Rather peculiar isn't it?"

"Whatever do you mean Caddy?"

"I mean those buildings in the distance, just across the field and past that patch of forest."

"You mean the abandoned steel mill?"

"Exactly that Jewel."

Jewel shrugged her shoulders. "What about it?"

Cadpig regarded her sister with a grim demeanor. "Something doesn't seem right about it."

Jewel eyed her sister with interest. "How's that?"

"Just a hunch, I just hope I'm wrong."

"Caddy darling," Jewel said placing a paw on her sister's shoulder. "It's just some empty buildings. Nothing more. They have not been used in years."

Cadpig look skeptical. "I know, but still…"

Then the girls' ears perked up when they picked up the sound of someone approaching from behind. They both turned to see a familiar sight.

"Tripod?" Jewel said.

The three-legged Dalmatian pup was running towards the two girls, who was doing so very effortlessly, despite missing a leg.

"Mum says it's almost supper time," he said. "You'd better come back now, it's gonna get dark soon."

"We'll be right there Tri'," Jewel said.

Tripod nodded and went back the way he came.

Before following, Jewel gave Cadpig a look which seemed to say _don't take too long._

Cadpig seemed to understand. "I won't be long Jewel, just need a moment."

Jewel nodded in understanding, albeit sadly, and she followed Tripod.

Watching her sister go, Cadpig turned back to observe the abandoned steel mill.

There was something foreboding about that place. She couldn't put her paw on it but somehow, it just seemed off to her. Not because of the deteriorating substructure of the building and its foundation. Not because of the clear sign of decay. Just because it felt off to her.

It was the same feeling she had when she first laid eyes on Hell Hall, the ancestral home of Cruella de Vil. The same feeling she had on the night just before she and her 14 brothers and sisters were abducted.

It was a sixth sense if you will, a little more diverse than simply detecting a coming storm.

And yet, despite her foresight, it was not full proof. Evidence of such was about to manifest itself in a most horrific manner.

* * *

A white rabbit was fleeing for its life. It was fast but its predator was cunning and relentless. The critter was running out of ground and its pursuer had almost reached it.

Until it took cover beneath a bush and scurried into its hole.

Knowing that he lost his kill, the Rottweiler growled in frustration and rage. He wasn't particularly hungry, not really. He just wanted to tear something to shreds, something alive and squirming.

Just before the angry dog abandoned its purpose, he caught the scent of something, something new and strange.

Turning his head a fraction to the right, the Rottweiler caught sight of something, small, white and with black spots.

A girl. She was just sitting there on the hill, as though she had nothing better to do than stare at nothing.

The Rottweiler's mouth stretched into a cruel smile, revealing jagged but sharp teeth.

_Easy prey._

* * *

Cadpig took one last gander at the steel mill and she managed to shake off its allure.

She was about to stand up until-

Her nose twitched for a foreign scent had reached it.

It came from below the hill to her right.

She tried to listen for any sign of an interloper but there was none.

That was not a good sign, which means whatever might be stalking her was trying not to be seen. But the scent was there.

_Dad always said if something doesn't smell right, run._

And so she did.

Cadpig turned and ran like her life depended on it.

And it did.

Cadpig did not dare turn but judging by the new sound of a larger four-legged creature running fast and that new scent - odor really - getting closer, she understood that she was right to run.

It was getting closer.

Her sense of foreboding turned to desperation as the word suddenly left her lips as though it were choked out of her.

She screamed it at the top of her lungs.

"HELP!"

* * *

Jewel and Tripod turned their heads to hear the sound of their youngest sister crying out.

Given her attention to detail, Jewel noticed a black and brown shape moving fast. It was another dog, a bigger one. And it was chasing-

Jewel's eyes opened in horror. "CADDY!"

Before she could run to her, Tripod stepped in front of her. "Get Mum and Dad, I'll help Caddy!"

Tripod shot like a bullet in the direction Cadpig was running in an attempt to cut off whatever predator was pursuing her. Jewel wasn't given enough time to answer him but all the same, she ran towards the farm, faster than she ever thought possible.

* * *

"Alright children," Perdita said. "Everyone to the barn now."

As the remaining 101 scurried towards the barn house of the Radcliff farm for supper time, Perdita was making sure all of the puppies were accounted for. Her mate Pongo was sitting on the porch, keeping track of the puppies leaving the farm house which served as the home for their own pets, Roger and Anita, as well as their housekeeper, Nanny Cook.

It was just a usual day at the Radcliff farm. No surprises, just the usual routine: seeing to 99 Dalmatian puppies, nurturing them, raising them, loving them. It was no picnic but it was never dull.

But today would be different.

"Mum! Dad!"

Pongo's ears perked up.

_Jewel?_

Pongo's eyes immediately caught one of his daughters - one of the original 15 - running towards the farm as though her tail was on fire. Pongo rushes towards her, his previous task forgotten. But Perdita had already reached her.

Pongo could not hear what Jewel was saying but the look on her face said it all. Something was wrong.

It was made all the more clear by how rigid Perdita became before she ran towards where Jewel had come from as though it were a matter of life and death.

_Oh no._

"Jewel!" Pongo cried as he finally reached her. "What is it?! What's wrong?!"

"It's Caddy father, she is in big trouble!"

_No! Not again! _

Pongo's mind was blank, his body rigid. That is not possible. The farm was supposed to be a safe place for his children. Would there always be danger? Would they ever be safe?

Pongo said nothing more as he ran after Perdita as fast as she could.

* * *

Cadpig could barely breathe. She hadn't run this hard since...since…

_Hell Hall. Has it only been eight months since we escaped Cruella?_

She heard him now and the foul odor her pursuer emitted was nauseating, as though this fiend had been rolling around in his own filth. She could hear him panting, salivating as though he were about to eat his favorite meal.

The predator was getting closer.

She was already out of breath, but she took one in to deliver one last call for help.

And then a familiar scent reached her nose. But she did not dare turn to see who it was.

That is until she heard the familiar sound of someone crashing into another.

She heard the voice of her pursuer cry out in minor pain and another voice groaning in discomfort.

Cadpig stopped in her tracks and turned to get a good look at whoever it was that was hunting her.

She recognized this breed of dog as a Rottweiler, one notorious for its aggressive nature. This one appeared dizzy as he was picking himself up from the ground.

Cadpig turned to look at the newcomer and gasped when she saw that it was Tripod.

_He must've tripped this one with his own body!_

She rushed to her brother's side - adopted yes, but her brother all the same.

"Tripod, are you okay?"

He groaned. He was muttering something. Cadpig leaned in to listen. "...un now…"

"What?"

Tripod looked at her, alarm in his eyes. "Run! Run!"

And then she heard the sound of snarling from behind her. It was savage and bloodthirsty, filled with rage.

She turned and saw that the Rottweiler had already gotten to his feet. His eyes were the blood red of madness.

Cadpig did not move. It was not just fear but also love, which drove her not to leave Tripod at the mercy of this beast.

"Caddy run!" he cried.

"No, I won't!"

The Rottweiler strode forward, limping slightly, his teeth bared, spittle dripping from them.

Cadpig was trembling like a leaf but she stood her ground.

But before this predator could break into his full stride, something else crashed into him.

Cadpig's eyes widened as she recognized who it was as she pounced on to the Rottweiler, looking as furious as she was when she and dad arrived at Hell Hall and attacked the Badun's.

"Mom!" Cadpig cried in terror.

Tumbling due to the force of her pounce, Perdita clasped her teeth onto the Rottweiler's left ear, not letting go.

The Rottweiler cried out in pain.

Tripod, with his one foreleg, grabbed Cadpig and forced her head down, preventing her from seeing the scuffle.

Cadpig was startled by this sudden action. "Tri?! What are you-?!"

"You don't need to see this."

A yelp of even greater pain was heard along with the sound of something being torn off.

Cadpig cringed at the sound.

"Caddy!"

_Daddy?_

Cadpig looked up and she indeed saw her father approaching. She tore away from Tripod to run to him.

"Daddy!" Cadpig cried.

"Caddy!" Pongo rushed to his youngest daughter and held her close as she sobbed with terrified abandon.

"Are you alright?" Pongo asked.

Cadpig sniffled. "I think so."

Pongo observing the grisly scene of his mate facing down the assailant, pushed his daughter behind him. Seeing Tripod get to his feet, Pongo said, "Tripod, are you hurt?"

Tripod shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"Stay with your sister."

Tripod nodded and Pongo dashed to aid his beloved.

* * *

The Rottweiler was writhing in agony but only for a moment. Blood was running down the left side of his head, right from where his ear used to be.

Angrier than ever, the Rottweiler looked up at the one who dared to interrupt his fun. He inhaled sharply as he observed quite possibly the most beautiful creature on four legs he has ever seen. He had almost smiled seductively at her, at least until he noticed that there was blood around her mouth.

And noticing something out of place in the grass, the Rottweiler saw what appeared to be a severed ear.

And judging by the empty space on the left side of his head and the terrible ringing where his left ear should be...

_This spotted wretch bit my ear off._

The Rottweiler bared his teeth once more in malicious rage.

Before he could approach his assailant however, the sound of angry barking filled the air.

Instinctively recoiling at the sound, the Rottweiler looked back at his assailant and realized that the sound did not come from her. Without turning his head, h blooked to see another spotted dog, clearly a male, running towards him.

The Rottweiler chuckled. _This one wants to play too does he?_

However, his chuckle died in his throat the moment he saw the look on this one's face. This one's teeth were also bared, nothing unusual. And he was running faster than any dog of such stature he had ever seen. But his eyes however, were what got to him. They shone as though they were in flames, the same look he saw from dogs much more ferocious than he, dogs that made this one look like a toothpick.

_What...what is this?_

The Rottweiler could not explain it, but a great fear came over him, so great that he almost couldn't move. Almost.

He ran.

* * *

Perdita watched in grim anticipation as Pongo ran down the intruder.

_Be careful my love._

Perdita turned her head to see her dear, little Cadpig, in the distance, shaking like a leaf and being held by her adopted brother Tripod (one of many adopted brothers and sisters). Perdita also saw that several of her children were coming their way and were clearly wasting no time doing so.

She recognized some of them but not all due to the distance. Jewel was in the front. Lucky and Patch were right behind her. Many others were on the way.

And then she realized something. Perdita licked her lips and almost gagged when she tasted the foul but familiar taste of blood.

_I can't let them see me like this, especially Cadpig, not after what she has now been through. She's frightened enough as it is._

Perdita looked down to study the severed ear of her daughter's assailant.

_Can't let them see that either._

* * *

The Rottweiler had never known such indignity in his life.

But he had never known fear, not quite like this.

He might not have minded if this were a dog of greater size, strength, and ferocity, who was pursuing him.

But it wasn't. This was a Dalmatian, not a German Shepherd or a Bullmastiff. This was an insult.

And what's worse, by some un-miracle, terror overcame his senses and now he was fleeing from this...this...pup.

All this, over some pint sized little pipsqueak.

_I will escape. And I will return and have my revenge. On this upstart. On that wretch. And on that three-legged whelp. And then I will have that runt._

But he had to escape first. Even with an injured paw, he was still making good ground.

The Rottweiler turned his head to study his pursuer. He was getting closer.

The Rottweiler's heart began to thump as he quickened his pace, thus aggravating his injury, making the pain worse. He grit his teeth in an attempt to quell the pain. It did little to help.

He reached the forest. The escape will be all the more complicated for the thick terrain will make it difficult to run, but that means it will be difficult for his pursuer as well.

Leaping over a protruding tree root, the Rottweiler turned to see that the Dalmatian was nowhere to be seen.

_Have I lost him?_

The Rottweiler turned back and was about to make a turn around a large tree.

Until something crashed into him from behind.

The wind was knocked out of him.

The Rottweiler tumbled to the ground before landing on his back.

Pongo jumped onto the Rottweiler and pressed his paw against his throat to keep him pinned.

He snarled and let out a vicious bark.

The Rottweiler looked up at him, his eyes filled with terror.

"Please…" he choked. "I don't...want to...die."

Pongo sneered. "Neither does my daughter."

The Rottweiler trembled. "She's your...your…?"

Pongo pressed his paw harder. "Be quiet," he growled.

The Rottweiler coughed, trying to catch a breath. His vision was starting to go grey at the edges.

Pongo eased up on his chokehold. "Look at me."

The Rottweiler, proud as he was, refused to meet the Dalmatian's gaze.

His eyes blazing with fury, Pongo barked, "LOOK AT ME!"

The Rottweiler looked him in the eye with a whimper.

"You will never set foot on this farm again," Pongo said with tranquil fury. "You will stay away from this farm. You will never come near my family again. You will stay away from my children and you will stay away from me."

Pongo got in the Rottweiler's face, until their noses' almost touched. "If you ever threaten my family again, I will hunt you down."

The Rottweiler said nothing. He just trembled and whimpered pathetically.

"Do you understand?!" Pongo said, almost shouting.

The Rottweiler nodded.

Pongo got off of him and the Rottweiler got to his feet. He sat on his haunches and looked at his pursuer nervously.

"Now scram."

The Rottweiler turned tail and ran like the devil.

* * *

Cadpig trembled beneath the blanket she was nestled under, whimpering every now and then.

Perdita, nestled by her daughter, continued to nurture her with kisses and consoling words, trying her best to comfort the near-hysterical pup.

Lucky nuzzled her gently, trying to settle her down. Roly was right beside her as well, trying to do much the same.

"It's going to be alright my love," Perdita whispered.

"Where's dad?" Cadpig croaked.

"He's with Roger right now dear, they're sorting this mess out and will see to it that that awful dog, wherever he is, is put away where he can do no more harm."

"And Tripod?"

"I'm right here Caddy."

Cadpig looked up to see Tripod among the other puppies in the barn. Most of them were up and about, watching her with looks of worry, anxiety and even fear.

_At least he's not hurt on my account._

There was someone hanging in the back of the barn, slumped on the floor. Cadpig recognized this one to be Jewel. She'd know that well-kept coat anywhere, except this time it was not so well kept. And the way she was curled up in the corner was unsettling.

_Does she feel guilty for what happened today?_

Cadpig said nothing more, too tired to talk, too tired to think. She just continued to nestle into her mother, drawing warmth from her, trying very desperately to get comfortable, trying very hard to shake off the shock. It was very difficult to do so as she could not shake it from her mind the terrible misfortune that had transpired today.

"Perdy."

Perdita looked up to see Pongo entering the barn house.

"Well?" Perdita said anticipated.

Pongo studied Cadpig with love and concern. "How is she?"

Perdita regarded her mate sadly. "She's terribly shaken."

"Oh Caddy," Pongo said as he nuzzled his youngest daughter. "My little girl."

Perdita inhaled through her nose before she spoke again. "Any news Pongo?"

"Roger just got off the phone with the local authorities, they'll be sending some people to investigate the area. If they find _him, _they'll capture him and put him away. And the vet will be here momentarily to have a look at Caddy and yourself."

Perdita sighed in relief. "Thank Heaven." She felt Cadpig's body relax against her.

"There's something else."

"What's that?" Perdita asked.

"Roger will be assigning some guard dogs for the farm."

Perdita looked at her mate bewildered. Several of the puppies did much the same. Cadpig did not show any signs of reaction, she just continued to lay where she is.

"Guard dogs Pongo?" Perdita said.

Pongo nodded. "Yes."

"But...is that really necessary?"

"I'm afraid it is Perdy, we can't be everywhere at once. We need to make this precaution until we are certain that the danger has passed. For them Perdy, for all 99 of them."

Perdita looked at Pongo for a long moment. Frowning, she nodded.

"How many?" she asked.

"How many guard dogs? Two or three I think."

Perdita gave Pongo a severe look and whispered to him. "Are any of them Rottweilers?"

"I don't know but Roger has assured me that they're very well trained."

Perdita looked concerned. She continued to whisper, "I just don't want Caddy to be more frightened than she already is. If any of them are Rottweilers, seeing one might cause her to panic."

"Don't worry, if they are any among the guard dogs, I'll see to it that they understand her situation should they ever come across her."

Perdita was still worried but she nodded in understanding.

"When will they be here?" Perdita asked.

"Tonight."

**To be continued...**


	2. Things to Come

**101 Dalmatians II**

**II - Things to Come**

* * *

"Are you alright Jewel?"

Jewel muttered but it was barely audible.

Patch cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"I said no, I'm not."

"It wasn't your fault."

"What wasn't my fault?" Jewel asked somewhat impertinently.

"What happened to Caddy."

"I left her on that hill alone Patch," Jewel said, her voice breaking. "She felt that there something was very wrong with that place and I left her there!"

"What place?" Patch asked.

"That steel mill that's been abandoned! In the same direction that...that _monster_ came from!"

"...Jewel."

"If Tripod hadn't gotten to her in time...if mum and dad hadn't…" Jewel grit her teeth, clenched her eyes trying to keep tears from falling.

"Jewel, stop it," Patch said firmly. "Cadpig is ok, she will be ok. Mum and dad chased that bad dog away and now they're going to have the authorities deal with it."

Jewel sniffled but said nothing.

"It's nobody's fault Jewel," Patch assured, "These things happen sometimes."

"But why did it have to happen to Caddy?"

Patch nuzzled his sister. "She's safe now Jewel, that's what's important now."

"What if there are more of them? These...mad dogs?"

Patch furrowed his brow in deep thought. "If there are, the human authorities will deal with them. And if any dare to come here, the guard dogs will _really _deal with them."

Jewel chuckled through her tears. "That is if Mum and Dad don't get to them first."

Patch laughed with her. "I hear Mum really messed that Rottweiler up."

Jewel grimaced. "There was blood on her mouth, just before she washed it off."

Patch looked at her with a start. "Blood?"

Jewel nodded. "It was hard not to notice the red in her white fur." She looked at him slightly confused. "You didn't see?"

Patch shook his head. "No."

"Oh."

Patch looked stricken. "Was it hers?"

"No, none of it. There was no sign of wound on her after she washed."

_Wow. She made that monster bleed and didn't get hurt herself? Boy was that lucky._

"I notice that you haven't told me how Caddy was doing," Jewel said.

"Oh right," Patch said as though he just now remembered something he forgot. "She's resting still. Lucky and Roly are with her. She...hasn't spoken."

Stricken, Jewel stared at her brother.

Patch nodded grimly. "She's still pretty shaken up Jewel."

Another tear ran down Jewel's cheek. "We have to make sure she'll be alright."

There were tears in Patch's eyes as well. "I know and we _will...together._"

With that said, they embraced and cried together.

* * *

"Here they come now Perdy."

In the distance of the farmland, illuminated by the evening moon, a pickup truck was approaching.

The Radcliff's stood on the porch with their loyal pets, watching and waiting.

"Are the puppies all asleep?" Pongo asked, not taking his eyes of the approaching vehicle.

"They are, I made sure of it," Perdita answered.

"And Caddy?"

Perdita nodded. "It took much coaxing but yes, she's sound asleep."

"Good."

The truck pulled up and a man in a long coat and bowler's hat popped out of the passenger seat.

Roger approached the man. "Are you Detective Wilkinson?" he asked.

"I am," the man said offering an open hand for Roger to shake.

Roger took the Detective's hand and shook it firmly.

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice," Roger said.

"Not at all. It's my pleasure. Now," the Detective said clasping his hands together, "I understand that you have a highly hostile dog in the area."

"Oh yes," Anita said strickenly. "It was terrible."

The Detective regarded Anita with a quizzical look. "You are the one who saw the whole thing correct?"

"From afar I'm afraid, but I could see it well enough to know what had happened."

Wilkinson pulled out a notebook and pen. "Now...let's start from the beginning."

"Detective?" Roger said.

Wilkinson looked over his shoulder. "Yes Mr Radcliff?"

"The guard dogs?"

"Ah," The Detective said. He looked to his driver. "Leonard? The dogs if you please?"

The driver, a young man with a dirty beard got out of the truck, went around the back, and popped open the trunk.

The Detective whistled sharply and three four-legged creatures rushed over to meet him. They stood before him as though they stood at attention.

There was a female Doberman who looked rather stern and quite serious. To her left was a male Anatolian Shepherd who was certainly well-built and yet looked quite friendly. And at the front was a grim-looking, well-built German Shepherd whose eyes and expression seemed to tell a tale of the hard and tragic of a guard dog.

"Here they are, all three of them."

Roger observed the three dogs. "They certainly look impressive." He raised an eyebrow at the German Shepherd. "This one seems oddly docile, is he really guardian material?"

"One of the _very best_, I can assure you Mr. Radcliff," Wilkinson said resolutely. "Ol' Ryder is among the fastest and most keen-eyed dogs on the force. He was one of our finest police dogs and he's as smart as a whip. He'll serve you well, I assure you. He seems quiet now but that's only because he received the best training Scotland Yard can provide."

Roger and Anita looked at each other. Then they turned back to the Detective with looks of contentment. Roger nodded. "Very well," he said. "And the others?"

Detective Wilkinson knelt down beside the Doberman to scratch behind her ears. "This lovely lady is Beatrice. She may look sweet but believe me, she's as fierce as she is fast. She spots an intruder, she'll run them down to the ends of the earth."

The good Detective then regarded the Anatolian Shepherd. "And this here is Maddock. He's strong, protective, vigilant and gentle. Very ideal for guarding children. Or in this case, puppies."

"Thank you so much," Anita said. "And their dieting?"

"All taken care of, everything they need is in the truck." Wilkinson reaches into his coat to pull out a sealed envelope. "Here's everything you need to know about these dogs, their food, how much they need to eat, their behavior, among other things."

Roger takes the envelope. "Why is it in a sealed envelope?"

"I wanted to keep it in good condition, it's been a long trip."

Roger raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Thank you again Detective."

"Not at all. Now...about the incident?" he said getting his notepad and pen again.

* * *

While their pets were conversing with the Detective, Pongo and Perdita approached the guard dogs.

Their leader, Ryder spoke first in a voice that sounded gritty and grim. "The Pongo's I presume?"

"Yes," Pongo answered. "We welcome you to our home."

"Thank you."

"Bless you all for coming on such short notice," Perdita said.

"Just doing our job," the Doberman said.

"Now if we may introduce ourselves, I'm Pongo and this is Perdita."

"Hello," said the Anatolian Shepherd in a thick Scottish accent. "Name's Maddock and this lovely lass is Beatrice."

Beatrice regarded her counterpart disdainfully. "I'm capable of introducing myself _Maddy._"

Maddock chuckled. "Feisty one isn't she?"

Beatrice growled at him.

Ryder decided that that was enough. "Knock it off, both of you! We're guests here," he said in a commanding voice.

Immediately Beatrice sat down, eyes forward. Maddock did the same, somewhat timidly, scratching himself while doing so.

Pongo and Perdita were taken aback by this startling show of power. This dog not only commanded respect, he got it without complaint. They both felt secure that they got the right dogs for the job.

Pongo decided to cut right to the chase. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked.

Ryder nodded. "A hostile dog, possibly more, has threatened one of your pups."

"Yes."

"And you need us to keep watch, keep the farm safe, keep your pups safe from any harm."

It was not a question.

"Yes, exactly. At least until we are certain the danger has passed."

"Until the danger has passed," Beatrice repeated as a matter-of-factly.

* * *

Perdita went back to the barn to turn in with her puppies. Ryder told Maddock to stay by the barn and guard it.

Pongo guided the other two to the site of the incident so that they could get the scent of the intruder.

Beatrice already caught it. She ran ahead and found a patch of earth that was freshly dug. Before she could dig up whatever it was that was buried, Pongo stopped her.

"Wait!" he called out.

Beatrice looked up. "What is it?"

"Don't dig that up just yet."

Ryder looked at him. "Did it belong to the assailant?"

Pongo stared at Ryder with astonishment. "How did you…?"

"It's very hard to fool _this,_" Ryder said motioning to his nose. He was not bragging, he was simply stating a fact.

"Was it his tail?" Beatrice asked. "Or an ear?"

"His ear."

"Did you…?"

Hesitantly, Pongo shook his head.

"It was your lady love?" Beatrice asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Pongo furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you're surprised?"

The Doberman smirked. "Not at all."

"Which way did he go?" Ryder asked.

Pongo looked towards the forested area, in the direction of the ruined steel mill. "There."

Ryder looked in the direction Pongo had pointed. He gandered it for a moment. "That place doesn't smell right."

Beatrice agreed. "No it doesn't."

Pongo looked at them both. "What? The old steel mill?"

Ryder nodded. "Yes."

"But...that's just an old factory."

"Yes, from the outside but I'm getting a very bad vibe about that place."

Pongo blinked. "_Vibe?_"

"Another word for an instinctive feeling," Beatrice said. "It's a new word."

"I...I don't understand," Pongo stammered. He was starting to become weak in his knees.

Ryder regarded Pongo thoughtfully, as though he was reading him like the page of a book. It was as though he knew what was troubling him.

He chose his next words very carefully. "It's that stinking feeling in your gut like something just isn't right. Like a growing pit or a knot in your stomach. Like a sixth sense if you will."

Pongo collapsed to the ground.

Beatrice went to his side. "Are you alright dear?" she asked concerned.

Pongo was gasping for air as though he had trouble breathing. "That...that is what...she was trying to tell me," he said as though getting the words out pained him.

"Who?" Ryder asked.

"C-Caddy."

Beatrice furrowed in brow. "As in Cadpig? Your youngest daughter?"

"Yes, she knew," Pongo said, his voice a mix of anguish and shame. "Somehow she knew."

There were tears in his eyes. "And I didn't listen!"

* * *

"_Is something wrong Caddy?"_

_Cadpig looked up to see her father. "N-no dad, everything's fine."_

_Pongo was not convinced. "Now now sweetheart. You can't fool me so easily. I should know if something is troubling my own daughter."_

"_Well…" Cadpig was unsure of what to say, but spoke her mind anyway. "It's silly."_

"_Not so silly if it weighs heavy on your mind."_

_Cadpig giggled._

"_What's so funny Caddy?"_

"_What you just said," Cadpig said still stifling a laugh. "Weighs heavy, it made me think of Roly."_

_Pongo frowned. "Caddy!"_

_Cadpig's expression fell upon realizing what she said. "I'm sorry, that was a nasty thing to say."_

_Pongo sighed. "Just remember what your mother and I taught you Caddy."_

"_Yes, I know. Think before I speak."_

_Pongo nodded. "That's it. Now...what is it that's troubling you."_

_Cadpig pointed her paw towards the open field._

_Pongo followed where she was pointing and saw that she was motioning towards the-_

"_The abandoned factory?"_

_Cadpig shook her head. "It's a steel mill actually."_

"_But why would that old place bother you Caddy?"_

"_Something just feels off about that place dad."_

_Pongo persisted. "It's just an empty set of buildings Caddy, nothing more. There's nothing there that can hurt us."_

_Cadpig looked up at her father with uncertainty in her eyes. "What if you're wrong? What if there is someone or something there that is dangerous."_

_Pongo was starting to get frustrated but he restrained himself. "Come now Caddy, it's starting to get late. Let's get you off to bed. Maybe some sleep will help settle you."_

_Cadpig sighed, sounding discouraged. "Yes dad," she said._

* * *

Beatrice looked at Pongo with pity. Ryder's face didn't change, he just continued to study him. Although there was a flicker in his eyes which suggested compassion.

"Your daughter?"

"Yes!" Pongo cried. "She tried to tell me, I didn't listen. And she was almost savaged because I didn't trust my instincts!"

Beatrice looked at her leader as though waiting for instruction.

He walked forward and approached Pongo.

"Mr Pongo," Ryder said firmly. "You need to keep it together...for your children, for Caddy."

Pongo took a deep breath, wiped his nose and his eyes. He stood to his feet. "I know," he said shakily.

Ryder looked at his female counterpart. "Guard the farm Beatrice. Call me if _something _happens."

She nodded obediently.

"Pongo, if you'll walk with me?"

"Of course."

* * *

Beatrice watched them go. Her mind was reeling.

_How very strange. For a child to be so insightful and have barely begun to live. It's almost unheard of._

Beatrice looked towards the forest, towards the steel mill. She grinded her teeth, eager to bite something, someone who deserves it.

_Come on, _she thought darkly. _I'm right here. Make my night._

One of her ears jerked and she turned her head a fraction to the left.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

There was some frantic rustling in some tall grass, but no sound other than that.

Beatrice growled. "There's no use hiding, come out now."

Very gradually, a small dark shape emerged from the long grass. As he stepped into the moonlight, Beatrice noticed a very distinct characteristic about this one: this pup had a black patch over his right eye. He was also quite filthy with mud but Beatrice paid no mind to it. She was just annoyed that this pup was sneaking around where he shouldn't.

_A Dalmatian pup with a black patch over his right eye. That rings a bell._

"Patch is it?"

Patch looked at her. "You know me?"

Beatrice smiled. "You and your family have become quite famous through the Twilight Bark."

"Oh," Patch chuckled sheepishly.

Beatrice became serious. "Why aren't you asleep with the rest of your family?" she asked sternly but not unkindly.

"I can't sleep."

"Why not?"

Patch sat on his haunches, looking downward. "Well...everything that happened...I can't get it out of my head."

Beatrice's severe demeanor softened. "Me and my boys will handle kid. You needn't-Hang on! How did you get past Maddock?"

"Who?"

"The dog we left to guard the barn? How did you get past him?!"

"I...well…" Patch stammered.

Beatrice looked him in the eye. "Tell me."

"I swam."

"Pardon?"

Patch stood up straight. "I went behind some tall grass, got in the pond, trailed through the bottom, and came out on the other side of the pond, closest to here, and crawled the rest of the way."

Beatrice was not entirely convinced. "How did he not smell you?"

"I disguised my scent with mud."

Beatrice grunted, impressed. _Remarkable. That explains why neither myself nor Ryder got his scent._

"Where did you learn that trick?"

Patch smiled. "Thunderbolt."

Beatrice almost choked. _That old ham?! Unbelievable. More importantly, why is he up in the first place._

"Why are you up? I told you we'd handle the danger. That's why we're here."

Patch's ears drooped as he shook his head. "It's not that, it's Caddy."

"What about her?"

Patch looked incredulous. "What...about her?! She's traumatized! She won't speak and she won't eat!"

"Perfectly understandable given what she has been through."

"It isn't fair. This farm was supposed to be a safe place and then _this_ happens."

"The fact is is that no one was hurt Patch, physically anyway," Beatrice said. "And I can speak from experience that your sister is going to be just fine. She has family who's supportive, loving and understanding. Is that not so?"

Patch regarded Beatrice with fierce determination. "You better believe it."

Beatrice smiled.

Patch continued, his natural confidence coming off in spurts. "Yeah, she'll be ok because we're going to make sure of it!"

_He's a feisty one._

Beatrice crooked an eyebrow and looked closer as something in the moonlight was being illuminated. There was something on top of Patch's head, it looked jagged, crescentic and very much like a-

_Where in the world did he get a scar like that?!_

"What are you looking at?!" Patch asked now particularly uncomfortable.

"Oh, forgive me," Beatrice said humbled. "I couldn't help but notice that wicked scar."

"Oh, that," Patch said rubbing the top of his head with his paw. "That's nothing."

"I'm an expert of nothing pup and _that_ is most certainly something."

Patch avoided eye contact. "I just got hurt is all."

"_Very_ hurt by the looks of it," Beatrice said as though she had just heard an understatement. "I've seen some nasty scarring but nothing quite so severe on a pup. That should've cracked your skull open."

Patch shuddered at the thought. "I don't like talking about it."

Beatrice sighed. "Very well. I'm taking you back to the barn, right now."

"Don't tell my mum."

Beatrice looked at him pointedly. "I really should…" Her face softened. "But I'll let it slide _this time,_ but sneak out again and I will tell both your parents, got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**VOICE CAST (Just to give you an idea what certain characters sound like)**

**Ryder - Clint Eastwood**

**Beatrice - Honor Blackman (Goldfinger, 1964)**

**Maddock - Thurl Ravenscroft (Think Sir Ector with a Scottish accent)**


	3. Iron Sharpens Iron

**101 Dalmatians II**

**III - Iron Sharpens Iron**

* * *

"The moment she came into our home, I didn't like the smell of her, and it wasn't just because of what she was smoking."

Ryder nodded. "Go on."

Pongo took a breath. "She was trouble. I knew that much. She was clearly not there to make friends." He looked sullen. "But Perdita clearly knew better. I dismissed the idea that Cruella was a threat. But she...when that devil woman visited, Perdy was just so distraught that she said she wished we weren't having any puppies."

Ryder sighed. "She feared for their lives."

Pongo nodded. "And I was naive not to take precautions."

"Did you feel anything irksome on the night your puppies were grabbed?"

Pongo flinched. "I…I had a strange feeling...that I should've stayed. When we went for our walk to Regent, I had this feeling of dread. I dismissed it as paranoia. But Perdy, she felt it too, albeit more severely…"

* * *

"_Pongo, we need to go home now!"_

"_Perdy, please."_

"_No Pongo, we need to go home right now!"_

_Perdita began to struggle on her leash._

"_Perdita darling!" Anita exclaimed. "Whatever is the matter?!"_

"_Perdy, please calm down!" Pongo cried. "Our puppies are fine, Nanny is with them."_

_Perdita did not listen. Panicking, she howled and she howled._

"_Perdita please! Settle down!" Anita cried as began to struggle holding onto the leash._

"_Anita, what's wrong with Perdy?" Roger asked._

"_I haven't the foggiest, she never behaved like this. Never."_

_Roger raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she senses that something's wrong."_

"_Maybe we should go home," Anita said._

"_Yes, perhaps we should."_

* * *

"I thought she was being silly, but how terribly frightened she was unsettled me deeply. I said nothing more as we went home. And as we got close to home…" Pongo drew in a shuddering breath. "We heard sirens."

* * *

"_What's that?" Roger said._

_The Pongo's and the Radcliff's put their ear to the wind to listen. In the distance, there was a high-pitched, piercing sound._

_It was police sirens._

"_It can't be," Pongo said, his voice hollow. "It can't be coming...from our house."_

"_No," Perdita whispered. "No. No! NO!"_

_She broke free from her leash and made a mad dash for the Radcliff house._

"_Perdita! Come back!" Anita screamed. _

"_Perdy!" Pongo attempted to chase after her but Roger held him back._

"_Pongo boy, settle down!" he said pulling on the leash. Pongo fought against it with all his might. "Pongo you old idiot! Knock it off!"_

"_Roger! Roger!" Anita cried fearfully._

"_What? What is it?!" _

"_Those sirens are coming from our house!"_

_Roger was aghast. "That can't be."_

* * *

"And when you arrived at the house?"

Pongo sighed. "The police were at the front of the house. Nanny was there. She was...hysterical. The police were trying to calm her down as they asked her questions. I called out for Perdy, but she didn't answer. And then I felt Roger unleash me and I ran into the house."

* * *

"_Perdy? Perdy?! Where are you?!"_

_The sound or rather the absence of sound was unsettling. All Pongo could hear was the sound of sirens outside. _

_Why is it so quiet? _

"_Children?" Pongo called out._

_There was no reply._

_Pongo's heart accelerated as the deafening silence continued._

_He ran to the kitchen._

_Nothing could prepare him for what he'd find._

_In the kitchen, in the corner where the basket where the children slept was Perdita, cradled in the basket, her back to Pongo. _

_She was trembling._

_The sound of deep, wounded sobs was the only thing that could be heard in the room._

_The children were nowhere in sight. _

_Perdita stirred. She seemed to know Pongo was in the room. "They're gone Pongo," she gasped.. "Our puppies, they're all gone. They're gone!"_

_Pongo's mouth opened but no words came out. He couldn't remember the last time he had been at a loss for words._

_His mind was blank, his heart racing_

_Perdita turned to look at her mate. Her eyes were bloodshot. "What are we going to do?"_

* * *

"I didn't have an answer for her. What could I tell her?"

Ryder said nothing.

Pongo bowed his head. "All my life, up until that night, I never felt more of a failure."

Ryder raised an eyebrow. "_Up until that night?_"

Pongo looked up with a start but then slumped onto the ground. "_That _is not something I like to remember Ryder."

"Is this something other than what happened yesterday?" Ryder asked.

"It is, I still have nightmares about it from time to time."

It went against Ryder's better judgment but it needed to be said. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I will," Pongo said firmly. "It's just hard is all."

"Mr Pongo," Ryder said sternly but gently. "I want you to know that as a veteran police dog and guard dog, I have often consoled some young dogs, rookies in training, who have been in tragic situations much like you have. I'm here to help Mr Pongo, however I can."

"Thank you," Pongo whispered.

He stood back, shook himself off, trying to get rid of the tension in his body.

"We found our puppies as you well now and then some," Pongo said chuckling at the last part. "But...but…" Pongo shuddered. "We almost lost one."

Ryder sat down on his haunches.

"Patch, our eldest pup, was almost killed by one of the villains who took our puppies. Well...actually he really was killed."

Ryder's eyes shot open a fraction. "Come again?"

"But he got better."

"So he was dead but...he came back?" Ryder asked skeptically.

"Yes," Pongo said with finality. "He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating. And then he just woke up."

Ryder paused for a moment. "I see. And the one that did it?"

Pongo's eyes narrowed at the memory. "The scoundrel was in the process of...well...he was about to skin him and when I saw that Patch showed no signs of life, saw the blood...I just lost it. Everything went red...suddenly."

Ryder nodded in understanding. "And you savaged the man."

"Yes," Pongo said. "I don't regret it. It was either him or my boy."

"But you didn't kill him."

Pongo scowled. "No, of course not. There was no need."

"No need?"

"No. Once I was done with him, there was no need. He was beaten and broken. He's in jail now, along with his brother."

Ryder nodded curtly as usual. "Very good." He chose to say no more on the matter.

"How is your boy doing?" He asked.

Pongo smiled. "He's made a marvelous recovery."

"And the other pups, were any of them hurt as well?"

"No," Pongo answered. "Thank Heavens, not a one of them had so much as a scratch."

Ryder adopted a puzzled look. "Then how was it that Patch was so grievously hurt?"

"Because...because he angered one of the Baduns, which if he had not done so in the manner that he did, we would've lost Lucky."

"Which one is he?"

"He's my youngest, from my first litter, my first natural litter anyway."

"The runt?"

Pongo lifted his head and looked at Ryder with a most seething look.

Ryder instinctively recoiled at the look.

"Never...refer to Lucky...as a runt...in front of me," Pongo said in a low, menacing voice.

"Of course," Ryder said almost stammering. "My apologies."

Pongo took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Now then...that long-legged Badun - Jasper I think - he was going to pop off Lucky first. Patch defended him, bit Jasper so hard that he let Lucky go. And then he chased after Patch and threw him into some kind of wooden cabinet."

"And that's what killed him?" Ryder asked.

"Well...I suppose so...I think it was a very heavy piece of wood from the cabinet that killed him...struck him in the head...after he hit the floor. He was bleeding from his head very badly."

Pongo bowed his head, drew in a shuddering breath as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"I'm deeply sorry you went through all that," Ryder said sounding sympathetic.

Pongo chuckled grimly. "It was quite the scare and _that's _putting it mildly." His chuckle then turned into one of relief. "But when he came back to us, I don't think I have ever been so happy than I was then."

Ryder's mouth twitched into what appeared to be a ghost of a smile.

Pongo's happy expression fell. "But then..._this _happens. My youngest daughter, my little Caddy, was almost savaged because I didn't heed her warning."

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it Pongo," Ryder said. "We've all made costly mistakes but they do not define you. You and your family have been remarkably fortunate. You may not have always listened to your gut but you and your wife have acted well. You both braved perhaps the worst winter of our time and traveled a quarter across the country in order to rescue your puppies. Not even the toughest dogs I know would dare do such a thing in such conditions."

"Not even for their own children?" Pongo said with some heat.

Ryder was taken aback once more by this Dalmatian's passion. He paused for a moment before he answered. "They'd try I'm sure, even if it killed them. And so would I."

"Because love drives you to do crazy things."

Ryder smiled dryly. "Indeed."

"But my point is…" Ryder said. "Whatever mistakes you might've made, you can't let them drag you down or keep you from moving forward."

"I know," Pongo said. "I often have to remind myself of that. Or Perdy does when I don't remember to do so."

Pongo chuckled. Ryder simply smiled.

"Don't be sorry, be better. That's what my father always told me," Ryder said.

"Your father sounds like a wise dog."

"Oh, he is," Ryder said solemnly. "He's always been our role model, not just to me but to all of my brothers and sisters."

"How many do you have?" Pongo asked.

"Four brothers and three sisters. My youngest brother was the ru...I mean he was born small. He was especially fond of our father."

"Oh?" Pongo said with interest. "What was his name?"

"What?"

"Your little brother, the one that was born small, what is his name?"

Ryder looked very uncomfortable at this point. "Well...you see...his name, yes…"

Pongo smirked. "It wouldn't be...Thunderbolt, would it?"

Ryder's eyes shot open, perhaps the most drastic expression he's ever shown since he arrived.

He gawked at Pongo and the Dalmatian chuckled. "I thought you looked familiar."

* * *

"You finished?" Beatrice whispered.

"Almost, just got to get that last bit,"

Patch said as he rinsed off the mud from his fur.

In order to disguise the fact that he was up and outside the barn during the night, Patch had to take a quick dip in the pond to wash off the mud he covered himself with in order to hide his scent.

"Done."

"Good," Beatrice said. "Now get back to the barn. I'll keep Maddock busy."

"Thank you Beatrice," Patch said sweetly.

"Don't mention it kid," Beatrice said flatly. "_Ever_."

* * *

"So we're agreed?"

"Of course!" Pongo exclaimed. "I won't breathe a word of who your brother is to anyone, not even Perdy."

"Good," Ryder said curtly and grumpily. "I know how popular _he _is and if any of your pups learnt who I was and who I'm related to, I'd be hounded by all of them and I'd never be able to do my job."

"I understand Ryder, it's just a bit to take in. I had no idea that Thunderbolt, _the _Thunderbolt was born small, just like Lucky was."

"Yes yes, it's all very impressive," Ryder said unenthusiastically.

Pongo raised an eyebrow. _He doesn't seem to like talking about him._

"Was he a police dog?" Pongo asked.

Ryder chuckled. "Not a chance. He's just an actor, a show dog." His voice became bitter. "He's never been anything else."

_Definitely doesn't like to talk about him._

Pongo decided to leave it alone...for now.

He looked up. "It seems that we're here now."

Ryder turned his head to look upward where Pongo was looking.

The steel mill.

"So we are," Ryder said. "Given how badly the place is falling apart, it shouldn't be hard for us to find a way inside."

"Us? Don't you think I should stay out here and be on the lookout?"

"No," Ryder replied. "I don't know what I'll find in there. I may need help. And leaving you out here by yourself. No, not a good idea. You can smell _that _can't you?"

Pongo inhaled the air. His heart dropped into his stomach.

"Yes," he said forebodingly.

"Then let's move, we ain't got all night."

* * *

Beatrice stood on top of the hill overlooking the farm. The moon was full. Its light illuminated the Radcliff farm, creating shadows among the structures of the barnhouse and the residence sitting next to it, giving the entire area from its grass and its trees a certain shine which made it enchanting to look upon.

_Not too shabby,_ Beatrice thought. _Wouldn't be a bad place to retire too._

The idea was fetching at first but it left a bad taste in her mouth when it crossed her mind of the implications.

_And have all those brats on my tail, no thank you._

The thought caused a certain sting to go through her stomach.

_Well...the pups aren't too bad. That Patch is certainly a feisty one._

Beatrice smiled fondly at the thought of that little rascal.

Her smile dropped when her ears picked up something.

It was coming from the far side of the forest.

She turned towards the sound and focused.

_That doesn't sound like Ryder or Pongo. Doesn't smell like them either. And it sounds and smells like there's more than two of…_

Beatrice's eyes widened.

_They're heading towards the barnhouse._

Beatrice ran like mad.

She barked as loud as she could.

* * *

"I don't like this."

"Shut yer mouth Bert, we do this quick and we all go home."

"You two just keep quiet and cover me. I wanna enjoy this."

Two Bullmastiffs and a Rottweiler missing an ear approached the farm, quickly and quietly. They knew they'd only have a small window of opportunity before they hightail it out. But that would be enough.

"Just hurry it up, will ya? We ain't got all night!"

"Shut it Dodge, you just watch my tail, got it?!" the Rottweiler snapped.

"Is it even worth it Neville?"

The Rottweiler turned on the one that spoke and got in his face. "Don't question me! I lost my kill and my ear, I'm getting something back for it, or I'll settle for you and your brother got it?!"

"Sure Nev', sure," Dodge stammered nervously. "But...it's only a pup."

Neville smiled darkly. "And I will soon be picking said pup out of my teeth."

Bert chortled as though he heard a capital joke.

A piercing howl shattered the silence the three were trying to maintain.

Neville gnashed his teeth. "Hang it all! We've been spotted!"

"Then we'd better hurry," Dodge said.

The three brutes made a dash for the barnhouse but were mere inches from the door when an Anatolian Shepherd stood in their way.

"Outta the way," Neville barked.

"I think not."

Neville growled. "Boys?"

The Bullmastiffs let out a bloodthirsty bark before they sprang forward.

Maddock snarled, positioning himself readily.

He was strong but even he could not hold his ground to the onslaught of two fully-grown Bullmastiffs out for blood.

They were on him like filth on a pig, a mess of snarls, claws and gnashing teeth, but Maddock was holding them off well enough, well enough to keep them from ripping his throat out.

His eyes fell on the Rottweiler, who was looking at him smugly as he made for the barn door.

He was missing an ear.

"No!" He cried out.

The Rottweiler went over to the door and with his paw, he pushed it open. It was dark inside, but the moonlight at least made it light enough to see what was in front of him.

In the darkness of the barn, all that could be seen were two pinpricks of light and a pair of white, gnashing teeth.

And all that could be heard was enraged snarling.

* * *

Perdita pounced.

Neville was ready this time. He moved out of the way quickly, narrowly avoiding this one's attack.

Grinning cruelly, he ran for the open door to the barn, only brought to the ground, a set of sharp teeth sinking into the back of his neck.

He screamed and cursed at the she-dog who got in his way once more.

"I'll kill you!" He roared. "I'll tear you apart!"

"Mother!"

Perdita's eyes fell on Penny, who was at the door, gawking at the gruesome scene.

"Penny!" Perdita cried through her clenched teeth. "Close the door and bolt it shut!"

Scared out of her mind, Penny obeyed. Using her head, she pushed the door to close it.

"No!" Neville cried. "I will not be denied!"

Reaching back, Neville clawed at Perdita's face.

He found his mark and scratched her right eyelid.

With a sharp whimper, Perdita recoiled, releasing her teeth from the brute's neck.

Neville jumped to his feet and with a snarl, he forced his snout through the opening of the closing door.

But he could go no further as something was forcing the door closed, keeping everything but his snout out.

He couldn't see who was forcing the door closed but he could smell _them._

"You little mongrels!" He cried in anger. "I'll have you all in my teeth!"

"Keep pushing!" Patch cried.

"I'm trying!" Freckles replied.

Penny was the closest to the opening, right where the snapping teeth were. She didn't dare move from her spot - from her spot where she was keeping the door from opening - for if she did, there was a very real risk of that monster being let in.

There was a sudden tremor of movement on the other side as though the brute was being held back.

Penny heard her mother's angry voice. "Get...away...from them!" She sounded like she had something in her mouth.

The resistance only seemed to anger the Rottweiler further. He managed to reach his front paw inside the door and was now dangerously close to grabbing Penny.

Penny screamed.

Perdita gripped the back of the Rottweiler's neck, tugging on him with all her strength, which was augmented all the more when she heard the terrified scream of Penny, her eldest daughter.

"Leave...her...alone!" Perdita snarled, emphasizing her anger with every word.

The Rottweiler laughed. "You'll have to kill me for that to happen!"

"That can be arranged!" cried a new voice.

Perdita averted her eyes towards the source of the newcomer, one she has already become familiar with.

Beatrice was making a mad beeline towards the barnhouse, was already mere meters before overcoming Neville herself.

"Dodge! Deal with that one!" Neville called out.

Beatrice was almost upon him before she was sidelined a Bullmastiff. "Sorry, invitation only," he said mockingly.

"Big mistake!" Beatrice snarled before biting into the Bullmastiff's face. He screamed much higher than what should be expected from a male dog.

"That's gonna leave marks," Maddock said as he pinned down the other Bullmastiff.

Neville grit his teeth with effort as he reached further inside the barnhouse.

"Come here you little rat!" he growled with hungry anticipation.

What followed was another terrified scream. Neville liked that, enjoying the raw fear like his favorite meal, which only caused to fight harder to get to his prey.

What came next was a sharp pain in his nose as needle-like pricks sunk into it.

Something had bitten him from inside the barn.

Crying out in pain, Neville recoiled, pulling his head out of the door, taking the one that bit him out with him.

The barn door shut and Penny bolted the door shut, completely oblivious that one of her siblings was just dragged out.

"Good one Patch," Penny said, out of breath.

There was no answer. "Patch?"

* * *

"Aagggh," Neville moaned in considerable pain. "My nose."

He looked down to see a pup just a few feet in front of him. This one had a black spot over his right eye.

Apparently dazed, Patch shook his head. He looked up and gasped when he saw Neville in front of him. When he noticed that he was missing an ear, his ears flattened.

"Y-you," he gasped.

Neville's eyes flickered. "You little-!"

Perdita stepped over Patch, shielding him with her body, snarling at the approaching predator.

Neville hesitated. Using his peripheral vision, he could see that his associates were barely holding off the other two guard dogs.

Neville knew that there was very little time left.

He gandered the Dalmatian mother and noticed the fresh scratch over her right eye, a few droplets of blood rolling down his cheek.

He smirked at his handiwork. "Looking pretty as a picture there."

Perdita growled but then smirked herself when a familiar scent reached her.

"You just ran out of time," she said.

Neville cocked an eyebrow. Then he smelt it too.

His heart leapt into his throat when he recognized that smell.

The sound of a well-aimed shot filled the air as it made contact with the ground, right between Neville's front legs.

Gunfire.

"My brother and his gang will make you pay for this," Neville seethed. He eyed the pup with the patch over his eye. "_All of you._"

And without a second thought or another word, he made a run for it.

* * *

"Perdy!" Pongo called out.

As he approached his mate, his heart sank when he saw the scratch over her right eye.

"Oh Perdy," Pongo said. "Your eye."

"It's not bad," she said, though the way she winced and groaned softly said otherwise.

Pongo looked to the horizon of the farm and saw three shapes fleeing into the night.

He inhaled the air and realized that _he _was here. And judging by that same smell and how it was all over his beloved, it became very clear that it was that monster that inflicted _that_ wound on his Perdita.

Pongo snarled.

He was about to go after the assailants until-

"PONGO! WAIT!" Ryder rushed to his side in a flash. "Stay with your family! Me, Beatrice and the boss will go after them!"

"The boss?" Pongo said.

A great thundering sound filled the air and the Pongo's turned to see Detective Wilkinson, upon a great black horse and armed with a rifle, riding past them, running down the hostile canines who threatened the farm.

Ryder and Beatrice ran after him just as quickly.

Perdita turned towards the remaining guard dog, Maddock, who was looking to be in much worse condition than she was. He was busily licking his wounds and judging by how many scratches and bites on his person, he was in for a long night.

"Are you alright Maddock?" She asked.

"Oh yes yes, I'm fine. Tis' but a scratch."

"Many scratches by the looks of it," Patch said.

* * *

"You want us to abandon the farm?!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Radcliff but that, _that _steel mill and this area, it's a crime scene."

"Crime scene?!" Anita cried. "It's just some really bad dogs."

"No no Mrs. Radcliff, this case is more than just a few bad dogs." Detective Wilkinson pulled out his notepad and flipped through a few pages until he found his desired set of notes. "Good Ol' Ryder uncovered a few things and I took a look at the place myself. Also, the two Bullmastiffs I managed to round up, I took a close look at them and found some very, very interesting scars."

"Interesting how?" Roger asked.

"They look like medical scars to me, not very nice ones either."

Roger stammered. "I-I see. And what of the Rottweiler? The one that attacked the plantation yesterday?"

"I regret to say that he fled Mr Radcliff. But don't worry, he won't get far, I promise you."

Roger looked deeply concerned. "What did you find at the steel mill?"

The Detective looked him dead in the eye. "Evidence of highly illegal and inhumane experiments on animals, mainly dogs."

Roger gasped as though he was out of breath. Anita did much the same and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Scotland Yard has been following a number of leads of a certain scientific group, a think tank if you will, which has been shut down due to some _experiments _which have been deemed unethical and profoundly cruel."

The horror on the Radcliff's faces continued to grow as the good Detective delivered his frightening report.

"How…" Roger stammered. "How could this have happened? Right under our noses?"

"It was only ever in theory," Wilkinson said. "But ever since they went black, they've been playing their own game, very secretly and they've been hopping from one secluded location to another."

"But are you sure these are the same people who occupied the steel mill Detective?" Roger asked.

Wilkinson nodded. "If the MO wasn't enough than _this_," he said as he reached for something in his coat, "is. Ol' Ryder found it in an old furnace."

It appeared to be some kind of typed letter, which appeared to be slightly burnt. Wilkinson handed it to Roger and he and his wife read through the contents.

It appeared to be an order of some sort to launch a certain number experiments involving the breeding the 'perfect' attack dogs.

Certain means and methods of how to do so were demanded in the letter, methods were quite horrifying to the Radcliff's.

"I don't want to read anymore!" Roger exclaimed clearly disgusted, handing the letter back to the Detective.

"Do you see the symbol at the top of the letter?" Wilkinson asked.

Roger looked back at the letter. There at the center top of the letter was a symbol which appeared to be four black triangles forming what looked like a strange umbrella.

The Detective spoke slowly in a deep voice. "That is the symbol of Black Umbrella. They were once a respectable scientific/research group in her Majesty's service. All kept secret you understand, at least until one of their experiments went many steps too far and they were shut down."

"If this is all a secret," Roger said," then why are you telling us? Are you allowed to tell us?"

"Because you're involved, you must at least know why you must leave your farm, for your own safety."

Anita gasped. "Are we in danger?"

"I cannot be sure," Wilkinson said. "But Inspector Gordon doesn't wish to risk your safety. He's arranged a pickup for you, your household, and your entire...Dalmatian plantation."

"Where will we go?" Roger asked.

"There's a farm in Suffolk, right by that Lancer's place. Gordon said that you'd remember it."

"That's quite far," Anita said.

"I know," Wilkinson said. "But it's the best place we have at the moment. You will be compensated of course. We'll have someone watch your farm until you return."

"Thank you much Detective," Roger said.

"Not at all. How soon will you be ready to leave?"

"Tomorrow."

**To be continued...**


	4. On the Road Again

**101 Dalmatians II**

**IV - On The Road Again**

* * *

They were here. It took an entire night, but they've made it.

The town of Stowmarket was one of the more quieter parts of Suffolk as well as the largest town in Mid-Suffolk. A small market town notable for its geographical significance as it stood on the main railway line between London and Norwich. The town is also known for being the site of tragedy during WWII when a lone German bomber attacked the town, an aerial assault which claimed only one life, a mother who had just returned from visiting her son and his fiancé.

And now the Radcliff's and the 101, for their own safety, make a temporary residence in this town, specifically a dairy farm which was made available for them. It was almost as large as the Radcliff farm and therefore had more than enough room to compensate.

However, the sanctity of the place would soon be disturbed, once it was discovered that one of their number was not among them.

Pongo opened his eyes, he lifted his head and yawned. "I think we're here."

He looked down to see Perdita sleeping soundly, her right eye appeared to be healing nicely.

_That's good, very good. Hopefully, there won't be any permanent scarring._

Pongo looked about the truck's hold. The puppies were all sleeping soundly as well.

Seeing his family safe and whole brought a smile to Pongo's face.

"Perdy?" Pongo said nudging his mate. "Wake up, we're here."

Perdita moaned right before standing up, she yawned as well but didn't open her eyes.

And then she did. Her right eye only shown slight signs of irritation.

"How's your eye Perdy?"

She smiled at her husband's thoughtfulness. "Much better, some slight stinging but nothing more." She kissed him.

"Better wake the children now."

"Of course," Perdita said yawning once more.

Pongo looked at her. "You're not too tired."

"Just a bit groggy Pongo, the tranquilizer."

_Oh, of course. Awful stuff._

"Alright everyone, we'll be taking your harnesses off now."

Roger removed Pongo and Perdita's first. And then he and Anita moved on to the puppies.

"Is everyone awake?" Perdita asked, still a bit groggy.

"I'll do a roll call," Pongo said. He regarded the puppies and said in a loud voice. "Anyone who is still asleep, please wake them up at once!"

Most to all of the puppies were looking about to see if their partner or any one of their group was still snoozing.

So far, none were found to be doing so.

Until Rover found Penny sleeping near the back.

He nudged her with her paw. "Hey. Hey Penny, wake up."

It took a few tries but he managed to rouse her. She stood up and stretched. "Are we there already?"

"It's morning," Rover said.

"Oh."

Rover looked up and over Penny as though he were looking for something. He then had a look of deep puzzlement.

"Uh Penny?"

"Yes?"

"Where is Patch?"

Penny looked at Rover, slightly confused. "What?"

"Where is Patch?!"

This outburst seemed to get the attention of the puppies nearest to them.

Penny was aghast by Rover. "What are you talking about?! She exclaimed as she turned her head to where Patch was before she fell asleep. "He's right th-!"

She halted mid sentence when she saw that Patch was not where she last saw him. Her eyes scanned the area and, to her horror, she saw that his harness line, keeping him secured to his spot, had been torn.

How is that possible. These harnesses are supposed to be incredibly strong, special made for safe restraints. How could it break?

Then Penny saw something protruding out of the inner wall of the truck. It was metallic, jagged and quite sharp. So small that only someone who was looking for it could notice. It had bits of harness webbing clinging to it like strands of hair caught in a sharp comb.

And then Penny noticed something even worse. There was a cool draft coming from the lower part of the inner wall, right beside where Patch should've been. Penny stuck out her paw to touch the wall and her paw came out the other side. The sensation of sunlight and light wind was a surreal experience, but it bewildered Penny to no end.

Taking a better look at the opening, she realized that a good amount of truck paneling was missing as though it had broken off and then very poorly patched over with an inferior material.

The opening was not big enough for a full grown dog to slip through but it was just big enough for a puppy to fall through.

Penny's mind was a tempest.

_How...how is this possible?! How could this happen?! He must've slipped out while we slept. The road must've been rather bumpy. This jagged piece of metal paneling cut through his harness line and while he slept, he must've rolled over and fell out! Why didn't he scream?! He can't have slept through it!_

Penny was starting to hyperventilate. She turned towards Rover who had an equally horrified expression. The pups nearby simply had looks of utter bewilderment and concern. They don't seem to have gotten the memo of what had happened.

"We have to tell Mum and Dad what happened!" she exclaimed.

"Right, but we'll have to pass it on to the others," Rover said. "We can't go far with these harnesses on."

"Fine, just tell them that Patch isn't here!"

Rover nodded and turned to the pup behind him and passed on the message, 'Patch is not here.'

It was sent through rather quickly, although the remaining 99 were rather confused by the message. Patch is not here? What does that mean? Did he slip out of the truck without needing Roger to remove his harness first? Or was he missing?

Whatever the situation, acting as one, as siblings so knit together often are, they passed on the message nonetheless.

In a matter of seconds, the message reached one of the parents, Perdita. Tripod relayed the message.

"Mum, Patch is not here," he said.

Perdita seemed to regard him, but given her grogginess, she was still quite out of it and had not fully registered what was said to her.

In a moment, Pongo was back by her side, having seen to the ushering out of a few more pups.

Perdita looked to him, her eyelids half closed and she said in a tired voice, "Patch is not here."

Pongo furrowed his brow as he took this information in. He looked at Perdita with abject alarm. "What?!"

This seemed to snap Perdita out of it and she looked at her husband. And then she looked back at Tripod who was looking at her with considerable alarm and anticipation.

Perdita then chuckled sheepishly to herself.

And then it hit her.

Her eyes became huge and she screamed, "PATCH!"

And she fainted.

* * *

The sunlight rolled over the city of London as though someone was turning a page in a book, revealing a brightly-designed picture.

Big Ben shown in the sun like it was plated with gold. The city was abuzz with activity. People on foot, in their cars, or in the widely-known red double-decker buses, trying to go about their day as it was morning and rush hour was to be expected.

One particular pickup truck that was transporting sheep wool was in no such hurry for the driver was meeting his deadline which would not expire for another two days. So he was making good time, even if he was dragging his vehicle through London's busy streets.

As he was smoking his pipe, he looked about and saw that he was approaching one of the bridges of London, a network of bridges which were quite a sight and quite famous. He was in such awe that he failed to notice in his rear view showing a black and white shape stirring in the back of his truck.

Patch's eyes clenched upon receiving the sensation of a very bright light.

This puzzled him. He was inside a truck, wasn't he? Or did someone carry him out while he slept? He was quite exhausted last night, given all the hustle and bustle of moving everyone into the truck at such an hour in the night. It wasn't until they were all in the truck and on the move that Patch dozed off.

He slept like a log.

Not hard to do so if you're sleeping on a bed of sheep wool.

His eyelids finally parting, getting rid of any sleepies that lingered. He lifted his head and yawned.

His eyes half open, Patch observed his surroundings.

_Well...this doesn't smell like a dairy farm, more like a sheep farm. And I don't think it should anywhere near large buildings...and...say, Big Ben sure looks pretty from this angle. Wait...Big Ben?!_

Patch's eyes widened as any trace of tiredness left him and he frantically looked about his surroundings and he realized that he was someplace where he shouldn't be.

"WHAT AM I DOING IN LONDON?!" He screamed.

The sudden stop caused him to be thrown into the very back of the pickup. Patch's head felt swimmy. It looked like the world was spinning.

"Ow."

Shaking his head, Patch heard the sound of a door closing.

He smelt another human.

His heart leaped in his chest. _Hey, maybe he can help me._

The driver shown his face. It bore a mask of contempt and anger. He had a club in his hand. "I hate dogs!" He spat.

_Guess not._

Patch started running before the driver delivered his overhead blow. He royally missed but he wasn't done. Patch made a jump out of the pickup, but as he made his descent, the line of his torn harness got caught in the pickup's cargo door.

Patch struggled, trying with all his strength to free himself. As the driver moved over to the back, he struggled harder. As the driver was about to try his luck once more, Patch's harness gave way and he dropped to the pavement.

He ran.

Patch found that he was on a bridge and a long one at that.

_I just need to get some distance between myself and that maniac!_

His instincts screamed at him to move quickly and the sudden sound of glass shattering told him why.

The driver had thrown an empty bottle at him.

Instinctively shutting his eyes to keep glass out, Patch for the moment was running blind. Thus it was not to be wondered when he stepped on some broken glass.

He yelped in pain as he jerked to the side of the bridge.

And he lost his footing and tumbled through a gap in the bridge's guardrail.

Shame that those who build this bridge did not take puppies into account when they designed the guardrail.

Patch screamed as he fell.

* * *

A pair of eyes opened suddenly as a scream pierced the silence.

"Wha? What the?" a voice slurred as the speaker stirred from sleep.

Peeking out from where they were hiding, a shadowy figure, quite small, saw an equally small figure, clearly black and white, below the Southwark Bridge, falling through the air and into the Thames River.

The speaker groaned. "Not another one."

* * *

Ryder continued heading southwest, having past Sudbury, the scent of his quarry still in his sights.

Seeing that the danger has not passed, Ryder and his associates were bound by their contract to the Radcliff's and the Pongo's to accompany them to their temporary residence in Suffolk. They traveled in the Detective's truck as they were not too comfortable with sharing a sleeping space with a bunch of puppies..

Several hours ago, while he was keeping watch in the back of the Detective's truck, Ryder had noticed a familiar scent, definitely belonging to the Pongo's, getting further and further away in the opposite direction of where they were heading.

Given how loud the traffic was, Ryder did not have time to try and alert the others to the situation as the more time that is taken, the further away the lost puppy would go and getting them back will be even more difficult and dangerous.

Without a second thought, Ryder leapt off the truck and with his superior tracking skills, he sniffed down the scent he had just caught.

_Hang on kid, I'm coming for you._

The scent was still fresh but it wouldn't do much good if Ryder didn't get to him quickly. If he's in danger, than he must be as fast as an automobile in order for the tracking to matter.

_Or a train._

* * *

Total darkness.

And the next thing he knew, Patch's eyes shot open and coughed up foul-tasting water which he didn't realize had been emptied out of his lungs.

"Tastes awful doesn't it?"

"Huh?" Patch said, still coughing, his body automatically clearing his airway.

"The Thames, it's just awful. Clean but not for drinking. Certainly refreshing for a bit of swimming but honestly, jumping from that height? God save the Queen, what were you thinking?!"

Patch's vision was still clearing. There appeared to be some misshapen blur above him, silhouetted in black against a bright light behind it. His hearing not quite all there. Whoever was speaking sounded distorted. Patch tried to help that by shaking water out of his ears.

"Who are-?"

"Just try to focus champ."

_Is that...a girl?_

Patch looked up and saw that the dark misshapen blur above was coming into focus.

"Are you ok?"

Patch's heart lurched in his chest when he saw who it was that was looking down at him from above.

Even though she was upside down from his point of view, - he was lying on his back after all - Patch could clearly see that this was indeed a girl and a Dalmatian at that.

She had black ears, a near spotless face, except for the one under her left eye which seemed to resemble what most people would refer to as a 'beauty mark.'

And in Patch's eyes, she was not bad-looking in the least, even for a stray.

Perhaps the most striking characteristic of this one were the eyes, the most bluest eyes Patch had ever seen. Like a bright, clear sky.

But this one didn't have a collar, just a red bandana tied around her neck.

_She must be a stray._

"Hey! Hello in there!" the girl shouted, waving a paw in Patch's face. "You finished staring?!"

Patch gasped inwardly and he quickly got up on all fours.

Patch instinctively shook off whatever water was still in his fur, much to the displeasure of the mystery Dalmatian.

"Hey! I just dried myself off!"

"Oh," Patch said sheepishly. "Sorry. Sorry."

"Is that how you say thank you where you come from?"

"Thank you?" Patch said quizzically.

The girl smiled. "You're welcome."

"N-no, wait. Why would I-?" Patch paused. "Did you say I was in the Thames?"

"Naturally."

"And you…?"

"Dragged you out? Pretty much," the girl said. "Well actually, more like swam and then dragged you out."

"You…" Patch said, quite beside himself with awe. "You saved me."

"Don't sweat it, not that you could anyway since dogs don't have sweat glands."

The girl turned to leave.

Patch walked after her. "Wait!"

"What do you want? Quit bugging me."

"I don't know you," Patch said.

She kept walking, she didn't even turn her head to look at her. "Of course not, we've never met."

Patch grunted. This one's attitude was starting to irritate him. "Can I at _least _know the name of my rescuer?"

"Sure you can." She continued in her strutting walk.

"Well…?"

"Well what?"

Patch cocked an eyebrow. He had to force himself to keep from growling in irritation. "Aren't you going to give me your name?"

"No."

"But you said-!"

"You asked if you _could_ and you can. You did not ask if I would, and I won't."

This time, Patch really did growl. "Now see here!" He emphasized his words by stomping his right forepaw.

A sharp pain went into his paw, up his leg, across his spine and into his gums.

GAH!" Patch cried out as he fell on his side, instinctively leaping off his hurt paw.

"Ow ow ow!" Patch groaned as he examined his paw. It was bleeding and there appeared to be something reflective and copper-colored stuck in it.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Oh this is just dandy," Patch said ironically. "Ouch."

The Dalmatian girl was by his side in a flash. "Let me see that?"

"Why?!"

"Just let me see!" she said.

"Fine!" Patch said as he turned his paw so that the nameless Dalmatian could have a full view of his injury.

She looked at it and then looked at Patch with a raised eyebrow. "You're a mess."

Patch glared at her. "Are you going to help or-Aggh!"

Patch recoiled and withdrew his paw. He felt an absence of pain. It was only a minor stinging now. He looked at his paw. It was still bleeding a bit but the glass sliver was gone.

He looked up and saw the Dalmatian girl with said sliver in her teeth before spitting it out.

"Precious."

Patch became angry at that. "H-hey now!"

"My name."

"Huh?"

"It's Precious."

Patch blinked. "Precious? That's your name."

"Yes." She looked at him pointedly. "You got a problem with that?"

"N-no. Not at all. I like that name."

Precious smiled mischievously. "Good. Now…"

She got in his face until their noses were almost touching. Patch's breath was caught in his throat.

_She smells like strawberries._

"Your name?"

"O-oh. Uh...Patch. I'm Patch."

Precious smiled. "I like that name."

Patch chuckled nervously. "Can I get up please?"

Precious backed up so Patch could sit up.

"What are you doing in the middle of London anyway?" Precious asked.

"I'm actually not supposed to be here."

"Join the club," Precious said.

Patch looked at her. "What club?"

Precious sighed. "Never mind."

Patch felt an itch in the back of his neck and scratched it. He paused when he realized that something was missing. He felt around his neck and found that it was bear.

"My collar."

"What now?" Precious said.

"Where's my collar?! It was red! Have you seen it?!"

"Oh," Precious said as she scratched herself sheepishly.

"What's 'oh'?"

"I took it off you and tossed it aside."

"Why?!" Patch cried in disbelief.

Precious put out her paws in a placating motion. "I wanted to make sure you were breathing," she defended.

"Where is it?"

"I tossed it…" Precious looked increasingly stricken. "...over there." She pointed a paw.

Patch followed it and with dawning horror, he looked out towards the bay of the Thames River.

His collar was long gone, as well as the tag which had the Radcliff's contact info on it. Getting home was going to be that much more difficult.

_Just my luck. _

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Kudos to YouTube username: Rkerekes13 for the comment which gave me the idea of using a ****Home Alone**** (1992) plot device for the scene where Perdita freaks out, screams Patch's name and faints.**


	5. Street Savoir Faire

**101 Dalmatians II**

**V - Street Savoir Faire**

* * *

"Dad, is mummy going to be ok?"

"Mum will be fine Caddy, mummy is going to be just fine. She's just a little _faint_ is all."

Maddock gave Pongo a funny look. "Well she did faint."

Pongo fixed Maddock with an unimpressed look.

"Well, she did."

Perdita laid on a bed of plush throw pillows. Having fainted when she was delivered the news of the disappearance of one of her children; she was then transported inside the resident house of the dairy farm and placed somewhere she could rest up until she recovered.

"How're your wounds Maddock?" Pongo asked.

"Eh, they're fine," Maddock replied, waving his paw dismissively. "Nothing to worry about. Just a few scratches."

Pongo raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright and a couple nasty bites."

Pongo shook his head, but he was smiling a bit.

"I must say so brother," Maddock said sounding impressed. "That bonny lass of yours, she's quite the fighter herself. I've only known Beatrice to be so fierce."

"That's the love of a mother for her children," Pongo said not taking his eyes off his beloved.

"Here here."

"Dad?" Cadpig said looking up at her father with pleading eyes. "Patch is coming back right?"

"Of course he is," Pongo said assuredly. "Ryder is looking for him right now."

"Don't you worry little 'un," Maddock added in. "If anyone can find the little bugger, it's Ryder. He's the finest tracker to ever enter Scotland Yard. He'll find your brother."

Cadpig sighed deeply. "I just hope he's safe wherever he is."

"Hey hey," Pongo said nuzzling his daughter. "Patch is strong and smart Caddy. I'm sure wherever he is, he's playing it safe."

* * *

"Where are you going?!"

"I need to get to Scotland Yard!" Patch shouted. "The Inspector will recognize me and help me get back to my family."

"Are you crazy?!" Precious cried. She ran to catch up with Patch and stood in his path. "Scotland Yard is a long way from here for a pup. You can't just go traipsing around London by yourself."

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous!"

"How do you know?" Patch asked impatiently.

Precious looked at him hard, her eyes flickering."Because I lived in it all of my life!" she exclaimed.

Patch was nearly stunned silent. "You've been a stray your entire life."

"That's right."

"Then...why don't you come with me?" Patch said. "You can stay with us, on the farm."

Precious scoffed. "And why would I do that? I'm perfectly fine just where I am."

"You'd rather stay in the streets? By yourself?"

"I never needed anyone to take care of me," Precious said bitterly. "Why would I start now?"

Patch said nothing. He didn't know what to say at this point, at least not yet. He hasn't met any strays before, not until today. He certainly didn't expect the first stray he'd meet would be another Dalmatian and a girl at that. But to hear someone say how little they desire a home, a family, it was almost unthinkable.

"A family," he said. "To be surrounded by those who love you, to be someplace safe and warm. Isn't that something _you'd _want?"

Precious wasn't convinced. "I've learned the hard way that you don't need anyone but yourself."

Patch's heart sank.

He didn't say anything for a long moment. But finally, after taking a deep, labored breath, he found his words.

"Alright," he said sounding defeated. "Do you know a safe way to Scotland Yard?"

Precious' impertinent look and air dissipated. "Sure." She turned towards an alleyway to her right. "Follow me, ok?"

"Right behind you."

Precious immediately turned to face Patch with a hard look. "But when we reach Scotland Yard, we part ways, got it?"

"G-got it," Patch answered shakily.

* * *

It took some tricky maneuvering but Ryder managed to hitch a ride aboard a moving train bound southwest.

Once he reached a point where the scent was strongest, he jumped off, very carefully so as not to tumble too hard.

Scanning his surroundings and examining the scent, he realized that he was in London.

"Very bad place for a pup to get lost," Ryder said to himself.

Just before he could go any further, he caught another scent.

Several scents, coming closer. He didn't recognize any of them, only that they were from the west.

However, there was a scent among them - odor really - that he did recognize.

Ryder's blood ran cold.

He had to hide and fast.

Ryder spotted a gap beneath the railroad tracks, a crevice among the stony foundation.

_I need to disguise my scent._

Thankfully, there were plenty of small mud holes nearby to make sure of that.

* * *

"What are we getting off here for?!"

"Shut up!"

Five figures leapt out of the open car door of a train in motion, coming in from the opposite direction.

One was an English Pittbull who was constantly smacking his lips and twitching.

One was a black Great Dane who was missing his tail and his left eye, the eyelid sewn shut.

Another was a Doberman, very well-built but missing three of his teeth.

The last two were Rottweilers.

One was a hair taller than the other. He was quite stern-looking, and he had brown eyes which were piercing, mirthless, without joy or compassion.

The second was missing an ear. He bore a disposition of sneering contempt and cruelty. He was smacking his lips as well, as though savoring the anticipation of a meal to come.

"Brother," Neville grumbled. "You said-!"

His brother turned on him with a hard, unforgiving look which shut Neville up at once. "I bloody well know what I said!"

Neville cowered under his brother's searing gaze.

The Pittbull giggled madly at the scene and the Great Dane struck him lightly in the side with his paw to keep silent.

The Doberman simply looked on indifferently.

"Mark me Neville," the brother said with thinly-veiled contempt. "I'm helping you with your _petty vengeance _because you are blood and this trip is on the way of my own purpose. But _you _will remember your place. I'm your older brother and you answer to me, am I clear?"

Neville shuddered and he swallowed. "Transparently...Nero."

"Good."

"If I may inquire boss?" the Great Dane said.

"You may Aldo," Nero replied.

"What is your purpose that we are here in London of all places?"

"Ah," Nero said. "Just urgent business is all."

"What sort of business?"

Nero fixed the Great Dane with an icy look. "Loose ends."

Aldo snorted. "Is that all?"

"That's all," Nero said jovially. "Do you object?"

Aldo was silent for a moment. "No."

"Excellent. Now let's get moving, this is no tea party."

* * *

Ryder watched them go. None of them seemed to give any indication that they smelt or detected anything or anyone nearby that shouldn't be.

_Too close._

It wasn't until he was certain that they have left that Ryder crawled out from out of the rocky crevice beneath the tracks.

_I have to find that pup before they do._

* * *

Patch looked around the empty network of alleys. Nothing but trash cans, litter, and the occasional alley cat which almost regarded him and his guide as some kind of outsider or intruder, which technically was not far from the truth.

Patch felt very out of place here, like a heifer at a beauty pageant.

"Are you sure this is the way?" He asked anxiously.

"Patch, I've lived in London ever since I learned how to walk. I know the in's and out's."

"Where are your parents?" Patch asked.

Precious became stiff. "Don't have any."

"I'm sorry."

Precious shrugged. "I'm not."

Patch gaped at her.

_How can she be so ok with living like this?_

The awkward silence was interrupted by the sound of trash cans crashing and the screech of a distressed cat.

What followed was the sound of raucous laughter.

"Hide!" Precious cried in a low voice.

"What?" Patch asked.

"Now!"

Precious turned tail and pushed Patch among a pile of discarded newspapers, flattened cardboard boxes and trash bags filled to the brim.

"Why are we-?" Patch said.

"Shhh!"

Patch lowered his voice. "Do you know them?"

"Not personally," Precious whispered. "They're bad news, plain and simple. Now keep quiet."

Patch kept his head down per Precious' instruction. He didn't dare lift his head not even to peek at whoever was approaching but even though he could not see them, he could hear them.

He could smell them.

_Why do they smell so familiar?_

"I don't like this," said a voice that sounded gravel soaked in Whiskey.

"Don't matter if you don't like it Aldo," said another voice that sounded rather high and a bit jittery. "Nero wants something done and he expects it or else."

"Yes yes, I know." The deep voice paused. "Would you settle down Tommy?"

"Can't help it!"

Patch saw whoever they were casting a shadow. One was too small to make out but the bigger one seemed to resemble that of a Great Dane.

"Why'd you bring us down this way anyway?" The one named Aldo asked.

"Heard voices."

"Just now?" Aldo chuckled. "I thought you'd been hearing them all along."

Tommy sneered. "Oh haha, a million laughs." He then started giggling. "Did you see those bite marks on Neville's nose?"

"I was more focused on the fact that his left ear was missing," Aldo replied. "He was doing a poor job of hiding those bite marks though, made it easier to notice."

Tommy giggled like a hyena. "Bite marks looked like they belonged to a puppy! Ain't that funny?"

"Hilarious."

In a matter of moments, the two went around the corner of the alley, out of sight.

Once she was sure they were long gone and clear out of ear shot, Precious moved out of her hiding spot.

"A puppy bit Neville? And on the sneezer no less?" Precious said, her voice filled with mirth. "I'd love to have seen that. And he lost an ear? Must've been quite the scrap."

Precious continued on her previous course. "Let's keep going. If we hurry, we can make it to Scotland Yard by-." Precious stopped and turned her head to to see that Patch was not following her.

"Hey!" Precious shouted as she went back around the garbage pile. "Quit dawdling, we have to-!"

She stopped mid sentence when she saw that Patch was shaking terribly. His eyes looked incomprehensive as though his mind was blank and he was covering his mouth with both paws, almost as though he were trying to keep himself from screaming.

_What in the world?!_

"Hey, what's wrong?" Precious asked as she approached him.

Patch did not answer. He didn't show any signs that he heard her.

Precious reached out her paw and nudged him, causing him to jump in surprise. Precious nearly jumped herself.

When he landed on his feet, he was breathing hard.

"Geez!" Precious cried.

"A-are they gone?" He gasped.

"What? Yes they're gone but why did you look like you were having a panic attack?"

Patch shook his head violently as though trying to dislodge any unwelcome thoughts. "I...I was pretty scared...when those two dogs came through."

Precious gave him a deadpan look. "Nah, nah, I don't buy it! No one gets a panic attack from two strangers. Something they said must've set you off."

Patch avoided looking her in the eye.

"You don't know Neville by any chance?"

A tremor went through Patch's shoulders.

"Alright," Precious said with grim satisfaction. "How do you know Neville?"

Tears of fear filled Patch's eyes. "He...he attacked my home...twice."

Precious gasped inwardly. "Are you serious?"

"This Neville…" Patch said. "He's a Rottweiler right?"

"Uh yeah?"

Patch rubbed his eyes furiously with his paw, wiping away his terrified tears. "Then it is him, for sure."

"Why did he attack your home?"

Patch looked angry beyond reason. "He wanted to kill my sister."

Precious let out a shocked breath. "For Heaven's sake, why?!"

"No idea, he just came out of nowhere and tried to run her down!"

_Geez, I know Neville was a brute but this?!_

"Geez, that's low, even for him," Precious said. Then she regarded Patch with interest.

"How do you know about him?" Patch asked.

"His cruelty is not unknown in London. But his brother is even worse."

"His brother?" Patch said, but then his eyes opened as he remembered. "His brother, right. Then those two are part of his gang?"

Precious nodded. "That's right."

_That...monster, _Patch thought to himself. _He said that he would come back with his brother's gang. So why are they here in London?_

His heart began to beat so hard that it was like it was going to burst out of his chest.

_Does Neville know I'm here?_

His terror caused his mind to snap.

He didn't hyperventilate this time. He just stood stock still as a statue, as though the world stopped.

"Uh hey!" Precious called out, trying to snap Patch out of his panicked stupor. "Patch?! Can you hear me?"

She thought it would help if she tried force to wake him. "I'm really sorry about this." She struck him on the nose with her paw.

Patch did not so much as twitch.

Precious groaned in exasperation.

_What is wrong with this pup?! I haven't known him for a day and already I can't stand him! How...how am I supposed to wake him now?! If hitting him won't do it, then what…?_

A thought crossed her mind. One that she did not find appealing in the least. Far from it actually.

_No. Nononononono! Absolutely not!_

Precious took a good long look at Patch who was still frozen stiff.

_No way! No way! Not even if he…_

Precious looked at him again.

_Well...he's not bad looking at least._

Precious shook her head of the thought.

_Ugggh! I can't believe I'm considering this._

Precious very slowly approached Patch from the front. And she licked her lips as they were dry.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Precious said with disgust.

Taking a deep breath, Precious shut her eyes. Gulping, Precious leaned forward towards Patch's face. She stuck out her tongue to give him a quick lick.

And by some odd impulse, Precious peeked out one eye and she saw that Patch was staring at her with abject bewilderment.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Precious shrieked as she fell backwards.

Now she was the one who was breathing hard. "Y-you're awake?!"

"Were you just about to kiss me?!" Patch shouted.

Precious' ears started to burn. "Well…I...I," she stammered. "You see, you were in shock and I was trying to wake you up."

"By kissing me?" Patch inquired indignantly.

"I tried slapping you but that didn't work! I didn't know what else to do!"

Patch blinked. He wrinkled his nose and then rubbed his nose. "That would explain why my nose was feeling sore. But of all you could've done, why-?"

"I couldn't think of anything else ok?!"

"So…" Patch said. "You were just trying to snap me out of it? That's all?"

"Yes," Precious said exasperated. "Why else would I do that?"

Patch didn't answer. He looked quite flustered himself.

Precious looked at him for a moment, not quite understanding his silence.

_Hold on…_

"You're joking right?" Precious said.

"W-What?"

"I'd rather kiss a stray cat!"

Patch recoiled as though he were struck. He felt deeply hurt by Precious' sharp words. He did his best to hide it. "Oh please!" He said irritably. "That's the last thing on my mind."

Precious smirked cockily. "Well that makes two of us."

Patch's left eye started to twitch uncontrollably.

Precious decided to put an end to this argument. She turned tail and continued on her present course. "Let's go. The sooner we get to Scotland Yard, the sooner we never have to lay eyes on each other again."

Patch was inclined to agree but at the moment, he was so angry he couldn't speak.

"And if you're worried about Neville, we'll have to travel unseen, but that will take us longer."

"Fine by me," Patch said curtly. "Beats taking the short way and risking being torn to pieces."

"Speaking of which," Precious said with growing interest. "Who was it that bit Neville on the nose anyway?"

Patch stopped walking for a moment but then immediately kept going. His sudden hesitation did not go unnoticed.

"It wasn't you was it?" Precious asked looking at him skeptically.

Patch lifted his head with a start, not meeting Precious' gaze.

That was answer enough.

"Well...that is perhaps the bravest or the dumbest thing I ever heard of. What were you thinking?"

Patch looked at Precious deeply annoyed. "I wasn't given a choice."

Precious looked at him as though she were studying him. "Well kudos to you, even if it was pigheaded of you."

"Was that a compliment?" Patch asked

"I wouldn't think too much into it."

The sound of a low growl was heard and the uncanny duo halted.

Precious gave Patch an unimpressed look. "Did you just growl at me?"

He shook his head. "No."

The low growl came again, but this time, Precious followed the sound. She saw that it was coming from Patch and she looked downward.

It was his belly.

She raised an eyebrow and Patch chuckled sheepishly. "I haven't had breakfast."

"Alright, I know just the place to fix that."

Patch looked stricken. "We're not going to steal are we?"

"You wanna starve?" Precious said.

"Uh…"

"Then I suggest you follow my lead."

* * *

There were little drops of blood and a bloody footprint, a paw print, small. There bits and pieces of broken glass all around that bloody path, on the sidewalk of Southwark Bridge.

"Well well well," said a mirthless, malicious voice. "I know that scent, I know that scent quite well."

Neville bared his teeth in rage. "The little upstart with the black peeper who bit me." He rubbed his nose which had a rather noticeable bite mark on it.

_The mother who took my ear is one thing. But this...this was a pup who left his mark on me. At least that three legged twerp didn't scar me. The boys will never let me live this down. Humiliation._

Neville shook in anger.

_He'll be the first to go and I will deliver what's left of him at his mother's feet. _

Neville grinned.

_It's going to be a real scream._

**To be continued...**


	6. Spotlight Part One

**101 Dalmatians II**

**VI - Spotlight Part One**

* * *

Perdita groaned as she stirred on top of the plush pillows that acted as her makeshift bed.

"...Patch," she moaned softly before lifting her head. Her eyes still closed, she clenched her eyes before jerking her head as though she had a mild migraine.

"How are you feeling Perdy?"

Perdita slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred but she could hear well enough. She moaned groggily. "Pongo?"

"Yes dear, are you alright?"

"I...I think so," Perdita said. As her lucidity returned, fear started to work up her spine. "Where is Patch?"

Pongo grunted grimly. "Patch...he...he's not here yet."

"What?!" Perdita sat up quickly.

Pongo tried to calm her down by placing a paw on her. "Perdy, please. Don't get up too quickly."

"What happened?!"

"Perdy, please-!"

"Tell me!" Perdita shouted.

Pongo hesitated but only for a moment. "Patch, he wasn't in the truck when we arrived."

Perdita's mouth dropped. "How is that possible? We didn't leave him behind! I saw him enter the truck! We did a roll call to make sure!"

"He slipped out of the truck while we were all sleeping," Pongo said gravely.

"But...the h-harness…"

"It was cut by a piece of broken metal in the truck. And Beatrice and Maddock seem pretty sure that in his sleep, while we all slept, Patch rolled over and fell through a hole in the truck."

Perdita clenched her eyes and shook her head. "No no no! That's impossible. We looked in the truck, we saw no hole!"

"It was a hole concealed by a piece of makeshift paneling. It was a patch up job but a very poor one."

Perdita laid her head down and covered her eyes with her paw. "My little baby," she rasped, bursting into silent tears.

Pongo laid down by her. "It's alright Perdy, Ryder is tracking Patch right now."

"Tr-tracking him?" Perdita said through her tears.

"That's right," Pongo answered firmly. "Ryder has been on Patch's trail the moment he realized he wasn't on the truck."

"Why, why didn't he alert us?!" Perdita cried.

"Because he, his companions and the Detective took a detour on the road to Suffolk. Somehow he knew something was wrong. He scratched out the message 'Pup fell' in the wooden flooring of the Detective's pickup. That is how Beatrice and Maddock knew what Ryder was doing."

"But," Perdita said. "But how will we know? How will we know when he's found him? It's still too dangerous to use the Twilight Bark! If Neville and that gang of his finds out that Patch is lost and alone…" Perdita could not go on. She burst into tears and Pongo held her while she in turn held onto him for dear life.

"I can't stand this Pongo!" Perdita wailed. "I can't live this way! Whenever I think our puppies are safe...some wicked villain tries to take them away from us!"

"We've been remarkably fortunate Perdy," Pongo said soothingly. "Our puppies have been in great danger but whatever dangers we've faced, we have overcome them. Our puppies as well, especially Patch. He is strong and he is smart. I'm sure he's alright, we have to believe that, for him Perdy, for our puppies."

Perdita sniffled. "How are the puppies?"

"They're settling in." Pongo sighed. "But they are so very worried about Patch, especially Penny, Lucky and Cadpig."

Perdita sighed sadly. "Oh my poor little darlings. And Caddy? How does she fare?"

"Remarkably well," Pongo replied smiling. "She has started to talk a little bit more and her appetite seems to be returning to normal."

"Oh thank goodness."

"Now as for your question as to how Ryder will bring us word about Patch, he will contact us through the electric telephone."

Perdita stared at her mate. "What?"

"I was confused as well but Beatrice told me that he has done it many times before whenever he needed to send out word when he couldn't use the Twilight Bark."

"Where did he learn to do such a thing?" Perdita asked.

"I was told that he watched the Detective using the phone and he just tried to do the same."

"Does he even know what number to dial?"

"Beatrice told me he memorized the number for the dairy farm before we headed out."

Perdita was astounded. "Goodness, that was very thorough of him."

Pongo chuckled. "Just like Thunderbolt."

Perdita cocked an eyebrow. "Well yes, just like that Wonder Dog but what made you think of him?"

Pongo's heart skipped a beat once he realized what he had just said.

_I promised Ryder I'd keep that he and Thunderbolt are brothers to myself. _

"Oh uh, well they're both German Shepherds and they are both heroic daredevils of course." Pongo smiled trying very hard not to look nervous.

Perdita still fixed him with a look of bewilderment which turned to suspicion.

Pongo continued to smile. He averted his eyes so as not to look back at his wife's piercing gaze.

Perdita smiled. "Pongo, did you make some kind of promise that you're trying to keep?"

Pongo's smile dropped and he looked at her.

Perdita giggled. "If that is the case Pongo, I will honor it." She kissed him.

Pongo looked at her in awe as though seeing her for the very first time.

He smiled a big smile. "Oh Perdy, I love you."

"I know."

* * *

"Look at that, we're in luck!"

"How's that?"

"Take a look Patch," Precious said excitedly pointing a paw.

Patch approached her side and looked in her paw's direction.

There in the center of an empty lot was what appeared to be some kind of tent of massive proportions. Bright red with yellow stripes. And it seemed to be bustling with what sounded like excited cheers and certain sounds - a mixture of wild beasts and bizarre showmanship - that Patch recognized as the sort of sounds that could come from one thing.

"A circus?"

"That's right, and there's always something to eat at the circus."

"We can't," Patch said shaking his head. "People will see us and we'll be in big trouble."

Precious grinned. "No they won't because we'll be hidden."

"How?"

Precious groaned. "Just...follow my lead alright?"

"Ok, but we're not going to...you know?"

Precious rolled her eyes. "Look, you're hungry aren't you? Well, whatever the humans drop on the ground is fair game. If they're throwing it away, then it's technically not stealing, right?"

_Well, when you put it that way, I guess it's ok._

Patch still looked skeptical but at the moment he was more hungry than scared. "How do we get in?"

Precious' eyes brightened. "Follow me and I'll show you."

With some hesitation, Patch did so and the two ran as fast they could to the massive tent before them.

It wasn't until they had crossed the street and reached the lot that someone had stirred in the darkness of the alley they had just exited.

The figure grinned revealing jagged, sharp teeth.

_Well now, the little twerp has a little friend in dear, little Precious does he? _

He laughed darkly.

_Good._

* * *

Ryder ran through the city streets of London, dodging whatever obstructed his path, from people to cars to double-deckered buses, etc. He was exhausted. He ran for a full day without food or rest. He couldn't rest. Not until he could confirm the safety and whereabouts of Patch.

Less than an hour ago, he had tracked his scent to Southwark Bridge. He became afraid when he discovered blood and realized it belonged to Patch. He didn't dare fear the worst because he made a promise to himself to bring the boy back safe and whole, no matter the cost.

However, to make matters worse, Ryder had caught another scent and there was no mistaking who it belonged to.

Neville. He had gotten the name from one of the two Bullmastiffs who aided the brute in his crime of attacking the farm, the two Bullmastiffs who were soundly captured soon after and taken in for examination.

Beatrice was none too gentle with them and they sang like canaries, especially the dull one. Was his name Bert?

_Neville is here and he is further along on Patch's trail! I have to hurry and find him before that cur does!_

He continued on his trail but this time at such a pace that his paws barely touched the ground.

* * *

The Circus Inkheart was abuzz. After all, it is among the most popular and one of the most bizarre shows ever to come out of the UK.

It was like something out of a children's storybook, one known for its bizarre and sinister absurdities and wonders.

There was a strongman bending an iron rod in its mouth as if it were a spoon.

An Arab man was walking up some sort of pyramid made of razor sharp knives with his bare feet.

There were clowns with white faces, dressed in black and white outfits. And they were dancing in such a way, twisting and waltzing, as though their bodies were black licorice.

There were animals, beasts of all sorts. There was a bear balancing itself on a large ball. There was a tiger that jumped through flaming hoops. And last but not least, an elephant dancing on its back legs as though it were a dog.

It was truly a spectacle that one would never forget for the rest of their life.

Patch certainly thought so as he observed the spectacle from beneath the circus bleachers, the audience sitting on them completely unawares of their presence.

"This...this is amazing," he said in tremendous awe.

Precious playfully bumped into him. "Told ya."

"I have never seen anything like it, not even when I'm watching Thunderbolt."

Precious looked at him with wide eyes. "You watch Thunderbolt?"

"Yeah," Patch said. _Why does she sound like it's a bad thing. _"Don't you?"

Precious gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh," he said in realization. "Oh, right. Stray. Which means no telly."

Patch looked at her quizzically. "How do you go on?"

"Oh please," Precious groaned. "I don't have to live in a house to watch television. But there are far more sophisticated shows than that ham of a dog."

"More sophisticated than Thunderbolt?!"

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard of the Twilight Zone?"

Patch looked uncomfortable. "I've seen that show a few times. Certainly intriguing but it was giving some of my brothers and sisters nightmares so we agreed stopped watching it."

Precious looked interested. "You didn't tell me you had brothers and sisters."

Patch smirked. "You never asked."

Precious smirked back, albeit with far more deviousness, like it was a silent promise that she was not one to be trifled with.

"And so I didn't," Precious said. "How many?"

"Including myself, 99."

Precious gasped sharply. "What? 99?"

Patch nodded grinning.

"Then," Precious said rather shocked. "Then that would mean..._you're_ one of the 101, the 101 Dalmatians! I heard about you guys! You were all over the Twilight Bark!"

Patch lost his smile. "Yeah. That's us," he said dejectedly.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just don't particularly like...well _that._"

Precious was even more confused now. "What?" Her look became one of grim realization and then sympathy. "_Oh_, bad memories? I understand."

"No no, it isn't that. I just don't like being referred that way, as _one of the 101._"

"But why?" Precious asked incredulously. "You guys are famous. Every dog in London, heck, every dog in the UK has heard about you."

"I don't like being referred to as one of the 101 because it makes me feel like I'm just _that. _Only one of a hundred and one. You know? Nothing special. Nothing unique. Not one of a kind."

"Ohhhh," Precious said. "I...I see. How long has that been bothering you?"

"It hasn't really," Patch said. "I just tried to put it out of my mind. But when you have 98 siblings, you tend to get lost in that sea of spots. My dad used to have trouble losing count of us. And that has been pretty discouraging."

Precious was almost speechless. "I'm...I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's ok."

"Is it?!" Precious snapped. "You've been missing for almost a full day Patch. Why haven't we heard any word of them looking for you through the Twilight Bark?"

Patch felt his throat tighten. This was a thought that hadn't crossed his mind. "I...I don't know." And it hit him. "Neville and his gang!" he shouted. "They must not have used the Twilight Bark because it tip them off that I was separated. They'd come after me to get to Mum and Dad."

"That-!" Precious halted in her retort. "That...that's actually a very good point."

Patch felt his confidence return and he decided he wasn't done. "My parents traveled nearly halfway across the country to find me and my siblings, they dragged themselves through a blizzard no less to get to us. So don't you dare suggest that they'd ever do anything less now, even though there are 99 of us now, instead of just 15."

Precious was stunned by Patch's show of bravado and devotion. For as long as she could remember, she had never seen or heard of such trust in another. Here was a pup who had been left behind by his own family and yet despite the very real danger, the position he was in, he believed in his family, that they would come through and bring him home.

It was like a knife in the heart.

_He has parents who would risk life and limb for him, while I don't._

Precious wanted to weep. She never wept. Never. When she learned her parents abandoned her, she didn't weep. When the dog who looked after her died to protect her, she didn't weep. Even with all the hardness of her life, she never wept. And she wasn't going to start now.

"You still hungry?" Precious asked suddenly.

Patch blinked. The sudden change in topic was suspicious. Patch furrowed his brow in thought.

_Touched a nerve did I?_

But he did not pry for fear that Precious might change her mind in helping him find something to eat.

"Starving," He answered.

"Ok, come here," she said, beckoning Patch to come closer to the opening gap in between bleachers.

Once Patch was close enough, something caught his nose. It was a scent that he did not quite recognize. It was sweet, savory, salty, buttery and nutty. A mixture of scents which were pleasing to him, even though he never smelt it before.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Circus food," Precious beamed. "People drop them on the ground like it's nothing. It's the same at county fairs and carnivals, any special event really."

"Sounds wasteful."

"Not if you're a stray."

A soft patter of something small and light falling to the ground was heard. Patch and Precious looked and saw that it was some kind of meaty tube-shaped product encased in bread, half eaten and covered in some kind of red hoppy substance.

"Jackpot!" Precious cried as she rushed over, picked up the object in her mouth and laid it at Patch's feet.

"What is it?" Patch asked as he eyed the food item.

"The humans call it a hot dog."

Patch looked at her wide-eyed and mouth open. "A-a what?!"

"It's made of pork, not dog," Precious said flatly. "_Hot dog _is just a name. Don't ask me why they call it that."

Patch sighed in relief as he looked back at the 'hot dog.' "Is it safe?"

"Yes!" Precious said exasperated. "I eat these all the time. They're fine. Go ahead, try some." She nudged it with her nose and it hit Patch's paw, getting some red goop on it.

Patch looked at it and then back at Precious, who looked back at him with beckoning anticipation. He swallowed, he bent down, bit off a small piece of meat from the hot dog, which contained a morsel of bread and the red goop.

The moment he started chewing and savoring it, his eyes shot open and he froze.

The cornucopia of flavors were unlike anything he had ever known: the savory flavor of the meat, the rich taste of whatever that red substance was, and the light, fluffy texture of the bread.

Patch swallowed.

"Well?" Precious said with some excitement. "What do you think?"

Patch didn't answer.

"Uh Patch?"

"I love it," he finally said as though he had just come out of a dream. "It's like...a party on my tongue."

"Told ya!"

Patch bent down to eat more of the heavenly delicacy, but stopped short. His mouth still open, he looked up at Precious who was smiling at him.

He stood back up and with his nose, he nudged the hot dog towards her. Precious looked at him bewildered.

"I thought you liked it?"

"I do," Patch said firmly. "But I don't want to eat all by myself, go ahead."

Precious was struck dumb once again.

_Did he just offer me something to eat before he eats himself?_

"W-What?" she stammered.

"There's plenty I'm sure. Go ahead, I can wait."

Precious narrowed her eyes. "What are you playing at?"

"Huh?"

"Are you seriously sharing your food with me? Is this a trick?"

Patch's mouth dropped. "No! Never! Why would I trick you after you just helped me?"

"Because," Precious bristled. "Because I helped other dogs before, because I pitied them, most to all of them have not extended the same courtesy. But not one of them, not a one have ever shared their food with me."

Patch frowned sadly but stood up tall. "Then," he said with sincerity, "I'm happy to be the first." He picked up the hot dog in his teeth and held it out to her.

Precious stared at him as though she didn't know what she was looking at. She then looked at the hot dog.

Patch brandished it, beckoning her to take it.

_I think he means it._

Acting on delighted impulse, Precious leaned forward and took the hot dog in her teeth, bit down…

...and her lips brushed very lightly against Patch's.

His eyes shot open and Precious gasped sharply.

And they both immediately separated, their ears burning so hot they practically turned red.

Precious turned away, her eyes huge and she absent-mindedly chewed the hot dog in her mouth.

Patch simply sat on his haunches, staring blank-faced at the girl.

_What just happened?! _

"Uh…" Precious stammered. "That was an accident."

"I kind of figured," Patch said scratching himself nervously. "Why don't we just keep eating and pretend this never happened."

"Good idea."

* * *

From outside the massive circus tent, just outside the makeshift opening where the pups entered, Neville watched the awkward but touching scene take place and he was quite beside himself with disgust.

_I better kill them now before I vomit._

Of course, he could not enter just yet, he had to wait until the pups either turned their backs or moved on. Only then could he follow them unawares.

_I need to get the drop on them, give them no chance to get away._

And then, an opportunity presented themselves. The pups descended deeper around the circle of the bleachers, searching for their next meal.

_Hungry are we? I am too._

Once he was sure they would not see him enter, Neville slipped into the tent and trailed after them, keeping to the shadow of the bleachers.

* * *

Practically out of breath, Ryder stopped at the edge of the street, just shy of Burgess Park where Circus Inkcraft took place.

_His scent has brought me here. Both belonging Patch and to that mongrel. But there's a third among them, one who has been running along with Patch. I don't know that scent._

Ryder went back into his pursuing stride but stopped dead when he saw something, someone skip into the tent.

He inhaled the air and his blood ran cold.

_I know that smell! There isn't time, I must hurry!_

Ryder quickened his pace and ran like the devil, teeth gnashing, righteous fury burning in his heart like a furnace.

_I'll rip him to pieces before he so much as puts a paw on that kid. _

**To be continued...**


	7. Spotlight Part Two

**101 Dalmatians II**

**VII - Spotlight Part Two**

* * *

"This is wizard Precious!" Patch exclaimed in delight as he was happily eating a corn dog that had fallen through the circus bleachers.

"You're telling me," Precious said she was munching popcorn from off the ground. "I've been eating like this all my life. On my good days anyway."

Patch paused as a thought occurred to him. "Does this food have a lot of calories?"

"Yeah why?"

"Oh," Patch said now slightly concerned. "Well, we'd better work this food. I don't want to turn into Roly."

"Who's Roly? One of your brothers?"

Patch nodded as he finished off the last morsel of corn dog. "From my parents' first litter. He's a bit on the _big _side." Patch patted his belly for emphasis. "If you ever see him, don't tell him I said that, ok? He's sensitive."

Precious didn't answer, she just grinned widely.

Patch didn't like the look of that. "Precious...I'm serious," he said warningly.

Precious still didn't answer. She just continued eating popcorn, that devious grin not leaving her face.

"...Precious."

"Yes?" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Cut that out! That's not funny!"

"Whatever do you mean?" she said, feigning innocence.

"Precious-!"

"Calm down Patchy, I'm just pulling your leg," Precious said placatingly. "My lips are sealed, I promise."

Patch gave her an unimpressed look. "That's not funny."

"You're joking?" Precious smiling slyly. "The look on your face, priceless!"

Patch frowned but then he returned the sly look. "You're entering _dangerous_ territory Precious."

"Oh? Am I?" Precious replied raising an eyebrow. "And just what do you intend to do about it?"

"_This!_" Patch cried as he sprang with all his might. Precious squealed in delight as Patch brought to the ground but she wouldn't go down without a fight. They both rolled in the circus dirt, each trying to get a hold of the other.

Precious won.

Patch blinked when he found that he had been pinned to the ground, Precious' paw held his head down, but not hard enough to hurt him.

"I win," she chimed.

"You got lucky," Patch groaned.

"Say uncle."

Patch looked at her. "What?"

Precious grinned. "American expression. It means 'I give up.' Say it!"

"Nope," Patch said.

"Say it."

"I think not."

"Now you're the one entering dangerous territory Patch. _Say it._"

Patch pursed his lips in defiance.

"Have it your way," Precious said with a smile as she proceeded to rub her fore paws into Patch's stomach, effectively tickling him.

He giggled wildly, squirming and writhing trying to push Precious off him, but she was surprisingly strong and he was quite worn out from the scrap, plus the tickle assault was vastly hindering his concentration.

"That's cheating!" Patch cried in between laughs.

"All's fair in love and war Patchy!" Precious exclaimed in devilish delight.

"Q-quit it! You're going to make me pee!"

"Say it!" Precious chimed.

"N-never!" Patch cried defiantly.

"I can do this all day!"

"Ok ok! Uncle! Uncle!"

Grinning triumphantly, Precious let up on her playful assault. "There, now was that so hard."

Eliciting some lingering laughter, Patch picked himself off the ground. He shook off the dirt that his fur collected in the struggle.

"Talk about fighting dirty," Patch said as he looked back at Precious.

He blinked when he saw that she had a rather alarming look on her face.

Actually more than alarmed.

Horrified. Her eyes were bugged out and there was a slight quiver in her breathing.

"Precious? Are you ok?" Patch asked worriedly.

Precious didn't answer.

Patch chuckled. "I'm not angry, that was actually kind of fun." He smiled deviously. "But I'll get you for that, mark me."

Before Patch could say anymore, he felt something wet and slimy drop on his shoulder. He looked and saw that it was some kind of gloppy, transparent mess.

Aw yuck!" Patch cried in disgust. But then he felt a different sensation, a soft wind that was quite warm. Patch smelled it.

He almost gagged for it stank terribly.

A creeping feeling crawled up his spine as the implications sank in. Very slowly, he looked up and saw a very ugly mouth with gnashing, sharp teeth, salivating and breathing heavily.

"_Hi_," Neville said savagely.

Before Patch could even cry out, Neville was on top of him, holding him down with one paw.

Patch struggled trying to squirm out of the brute's grip, but he was simply too heavy and too strong.

"I'm torn between who to kill first," Neville whispered sickenly. "You or your adorable little girlfriend."

Patch felt his heart stop. "I-if you hurt her-!"

"If?!" Neville exclaimed. "There's no if about it." He grinned. "And when I'm through with you, I'll dump what's left of you at your mother's feet, like a-!"

"GET OFF HIM!"

Precious latched onto Neville's face with her teeth. Neville didn't move an inch, or even move his paw off of Patch. He simply shook his head to try and throw Precious off balance.

That is until she jammed her paw into the still-healing wound where his left ear used to be.

Neville howled in exquisite agony.

He fell back and writhed in pain, releasing Patch.

Precious helped him to his feet. "RUN!"

The two pups took to their heels and did not look back.

Neville managed to pull himself to his feet, the overwhelming rage of being foiled once more overriding the flaming pain in his ear.

He ran after the pups.

"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" He roared with hideous malice. "I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN!"

* * *

"How did we not smell him?!" Patch cried.

"Neville's very crafty!" Precious replied. "Hurry, we can lose him if we cut through the circus ring!"

"What?! But we'll be exposed, we could be trampled by those circus animals!"

"No choice! We can't outrun him! We need to trap him!"

Precious nudged Patch through an opening in the circus bleachers and they ran like the devil through the open circus ground while the show was still in progress.

Their sudden appearance caused quite a stir.

There was a mixture of gasps, confused muttering, cries of disappointment of their show being interrupted, and even utterances of awe of the adorable puppies running about the circus ring, ducking under the legs of clowns, narrowly avoiding the outreaching hands of security who tried to grab them; they even jumped through hoops of fire.

It was quite a change of pace for the show.

Despite the chaos, this did not seem to deter their bloodthirsty pursuer. But it did manage to slow him down a bit.

_I just hope Mum, Dad and the rest of my family don't learn what happened here, they're probably worried sick enough as it is._

* * *

"Go Thunderbolt go!" Thunder shouted.

The remaining 99 and their parents watched the latest television broadcast of the Adventures of Thunderbolt.

They tried to enjoy as best they can, but given the absence and the yet-to-be confirmed safety of one of the members of their family, it was not easy. Patch's disappearance was a terrible blow but the 101 held on to the hope that he would be returned safely very soon. They had to believe that for his sake, but also because they could not bear the pain of nearly losing one of their own, not after all they have been through together to be here today, _together_.

"Get that dirty crook Thunder!" Freckles cried.

On the screen, in black and white, Thunderbolt was relentlessly pursuing a carriage pulled by horses and the operator was a ruthless bandit who commandeered it, along with everything it was carrying, including the governor's daughter.

The puppies held their collective breaths as Thunderbolt made his move. He jumped onto the back of the carriage, climbed almost effortlessly, before charging at the bandit who was preparing to fire upon with his revolver.

With an experienced twist, Thunderbolt dodged the shot, grabbed the villain outstretched gun hand in his teeth by the wrist, dragged onto the top of the carriage and with all the strength he could muster, he tossed the bandit off the back of the carriage.

The criminal fell screaming and hit the ground rolling, effectively rendering him unconscious and out of the game.

The puppies all cheered frantically, but not all of them.

Penny, Lucky, Jewel, Cadpig, Two-Tone, and Roly only looked a breadth less enthusiastic than the other Dalmatians

Not even when Thunderbolt took hold of the reins with his teeth, slowed the horses down and disconnected the reins so the carriage would slow down to a stop safely did they even utter a single cheer. They certainly smiled and shown a bit of excitement but nothing more.

This lack of liveliness did not go unnoticed.

_They miss their brother,_ Pongo thought. _This is Patch's favorite show, watching it doesn't feel the same without him. Hopefully, Ryder will bring news and soon._

Meanwhile, Roger was sitting in an armchair, smoking his pipe with a most severe look on his face. He had just got off the phone with the trucking company that had supplied the truck which transported the 101, the same truck which had that gaping hole which Patch fell through in his sleep.

When Roger and Anita discovered that Patch was missing, they were quite besides with shock and anger.

Anger that the truck supplied to them which had been listed to be in 'excellent condition' was in fact not only not to be in excellent condition, but was dangerously far from it.

And when Roger Radcliff got hold of the owner, the same man who assured them of the truck's safety, he had words. Many sharp words in fact.

Seeing that the Thunderbolt hour was coming to a close, Roger decided that perhaps some evening radio would do him some good.

He switched it on and the news reporter spoke.

"_...quite the sight to be seen I've been told at the Circus Inkcraft show, here in London, as its closing performances were vastly disturbed as what appears to be two Dalmatian puppies making their way through the ring-_."

Roger in pure reflex held onto his pipe so that it wouldn't fall, when his mouth dropped upon hearing this.

Pongo and Perdita's ears perked up and they turned their heads with a start.

"Did it say 'Dalmatian puppies?' Two of them?" Perdita gasped.

Roger turned up the radio and listened intently.

"_Yes, you heard correctly for those of you tuning in on BBC News. There are two Dalmatian puppies running amok in the center ring, one with a red bandana around their neck and the other wearing what appears to a blue harness and a very distinctive spot over its right eye as well as one black ear._"

"That's him!" Pongo shouted. "That's Patch!"

"Oh thank goodness," Perdita gasped in terrible relief.

By now, the remaining 99 puppies all barked and jumped about, cheering to hear that their brother was alive and quite well.

That is as far as they know.

"Anita! Nanny! Come quick!" Roger cried.

In a matter of moments, Anita rushed into the living room, followed by a frantic Nanny.

"Roger? What is it dear?" She asked somewhat alarmed.

"Turn the telly to BBC news and you'll see, it's about Patch!"

Without another word, Nanny did just that. And this time, none of the pups had any qualms of their favorite channel being altered.

On the BBC News, also in black and white, with the British news reporter voicing over the events taking place, the live footage shows what appears to be some kind of circus ring in chaos.

Circus performers from acrobats and clowns were falling all over each other. The audience ranged from shocked outrage to raucous laughter at this unusual turn of events. The ringmaster was doing his hardest to try and placate the situation. He was pointing at something which seemed to anger him. And as the camera followed where he was pointing, there were indeed two Dalmatian puppies - just as the radio described them - running about, avoiding whatever attempt there was to obstruct them, whether it was a security official or some absurd circus oddity.

"Look, it's Patch!" Lucky cried with delight.

"He's ok!" Penny cheered.

"He's still got t-t-t-that harness on," Fidget stammered. "Definitely our P-P-Patch."

"Fidget, how many pups do you know with a patch over their right eye?" Dipstick said.

"Uh...but who's that girl with him?" Jewel asked. "She's not one of us."

Two-Tone turned to her sister. "Are you sure?"

Jewel nodded. "None our pups only has one tiny spot under their eye."

"Oh no," Cadpig whispered, not taking her eyes off the telly. "It's Neville!"

"What?!" Pongo and Perdita shouted in shock. They both looked to the television and saw that Cadpig was correct.

The footage zoomed out and focused in on another dog that entered the ring, one which appeared to be pursuing Patch and his new friend.

And it was indeed Neville. His missing ear was a dead giveaway and now, the Rottweiler appeared to be more angry, more furious than any of them had ever seen him. And he was getting closer to the pups, to Patch.

Perdita's blood ran cold. "No, NO!"

* * *

Patch and Precious made good ground but that fiend was still coming.

They couldn't leave the circus tent because they knew that they couldn't outrun Neville. He was bigger, stronger, and faster than them.

No, they couldn't outrun him, they'd have to outsmart him.

"Just keep leading him into things Patch!" Precious shouted without breaking stride.

"Yeah sure!" He shouted back. "Just as long as it gets us away from th-LOOK OUT!"

Patch rammed into Precious and they both rolled some distance in the circus and the massive foot of an elephant stomped just a few mere feet away from them.

Precious gawked. "How did I miss the elephant?!" She cried, shaken that she was nearly crushed to death.

"Don't matter, we need to keep running!"

"YOU'RE MINE NOW!"

Patch and Precious looked up to see Neville leering at them as he ran towards them.

They did not have time to recover.

Patch stepped over Precious and without thinking, he shielded her with his body, growling menacingly at the approaching predator.

Precious was shocked by this show of heroism. No one ever did that before, not since…

Suddenly, as quick as lightning, a blur of black and brown sidelined Neville and brought him down hard into the dirt.

It had teeth and they sank deep into Neville's neck.

* * *

"It's Ryder!" Cadpig cried happily, tears in her eyes.

The German Shepherd gnashed his teeth into Neville's neck, who very barely managed to wrench free from his hold. They faced each other down, teeth bared and even though the 101 couldn't heard, it was quite clear that they were snarling at each other.

Penny was close to crying. "I was so...scared."

Perdita was openly crying now. Pongo did his best to console her. "Thank Heaven," she rasped. "Oh thank Heaven."

"Yes," Pongo gasped, in tears as well.

* * *

"**No more!**" Ryder roared as he rammed into Neville, causing him to collide with some wooden barrels.

Neville had the wind knocked out of him. He was seeing stars but he didn't care. His prey was right there.

Ryder turned towards the pups who were the fight with terrified awe."GO! Move it!"

Without another moment of hesitation, Patch and Precious ran as fast as they could back the way they came.

"NO!" Neville roared in rage. "You won't get away!"

He tried to bypass Ryder in order to pursue the pups, but Neville was either too slow or too arrogant for the guard dog's speed and strength.

"Back off Neville, you're dealing with me now."

"Get out of my way!" Neville growled.

Ryder's look was unreadable. "_No._"

Neville looked like he was about to spit fire."I said-!"

The sound of something flying through the air was heard and it ended with a sharp thwap.

Neville gasped inwardly as something sharp pricked him near his backside. He felt light-headed and he knew what had happened because it happened whenever he was a bad dog in the bad house.

This familiar feeling filled him with unspeakable terror and at the same time, uncontrollable rage. Neville towards the direction of where that sharp pain came from.

There was a man in uniform, like that of an animal keeper. He was holding a rifle, not one that fired bullets, but one that fired tranquilizer darts.

Neville snarled hideously albeit sluggishly, like he was in a dazed trance. He moved towards the animal control officer, snarling and salivating.

The officer was taken aback that the Rottweiler didn't go down yet. He considered firing another but thought better of it as too much could kill the beast.

"Keep your distance Murphy!" Shouted another officer who was standing on the bleachers with a rifle as well. "He'll go down in a minute."

The officer - Murphy - nodded at his fellow dog catcher, this very foolishly taking his eyes off the dangerous animal.

When he turned back to look at the Rottweiler, the animal had already taken hold of his leg, tearing the pants leg and biting deep into his calf and shin.

Murphy screamed as he fell to the ground. He dropped his rifle and he senselessly kicked at the monster that accosted his leg.

Murphy's partner wasted no time in firing another dart. It hit Neville square in the neck. He barely registered and continued to savage the man.

Ryder was at a loss at this sudden turn.

_What sort of experiments has Black Umbrella put him through to create savagery?_

* * *

"He got away!" Penny cried happily, tears flowing. "He got away!"

"Children!" Pongo said in a commanding voice, grasping the attention of the remaining 99. "Your mother and I will be going to London to pick up your brother! Nanny, Beatrice and Maddock will stay and watch you."

"But daddy, daddy," Cadpig protested anxiously. "What if the bad dog comes back and you're not around?"

Pongo nuzzles his daughter lovingly and comfortingly. "The bad dog will never hurt you or anyone again Caddy. Ryder and Scotland Yard will make sure of it."

"You...you can say that again dad," Tripod muttered gravely.

Pongo frowned when he heard the tone of Tripod's voice as though he had just seen a ghost or something.

Pongo looked up and saw that the children had their eyes fixed on the television. When Pongo realized what it was they were looking at, his eyes shot open and he acted with grim abandon.

"CHILDREN! Close your eyes! Turn away! Don't watch this!"

The remaining 98 did as they were told without question.

* * *

Neville writhed and barked madly, five tranquilizer darts having penetrated his being, but it did little to nothing to quell his berserk rampage.

But the only thing that was holding him back at this moment was the fact that Ryder now had him by the throat, in his teeth.

But Neville was beyond reason now, he continued to struggle, his desire for revenge now unbearable, uncontainable. He would have it if it killed him.

"Let...go…" he choked. "I'm not...done...have to...kill them…"

Ryder clenched his jaw so tight that he thought it might snap. He had to keep fighting.

He was utterly exhausted now, he had no more strength left. This was it. It was now or never. If Ryder doesn't stop Neville now, then when? And how many will Neville take with him?

The darts were ineffective. The humans seemed to have run out. How could they? Were the rest used to quell the circus animals that got out of control?

_I'm so tired. I won't be able to chase after him if he gets free. I have to stop him! I have to! I made a promise to the Pongo's that I would bring their son home safe and whole!_

Ryder's heart dropped when he realized this his jaw was starting to give.

_NO! He'll get free at this rate. And Patch and his little friend haven't got clear yet. I have to end this now. I can't choke him out, not enough time and I don't have enough energy._

His eyes narrowed into slits as he exhaled deeply from his throat.

_But I have enough juice left for this._

Intensifying his bite, Ryder began to twist.

"...rip...tear…" Neville muttered, now utterly mad, breathing threats and promises of vengeance, his eyes bloodshot and wild. "...will not...be denied…"

"No!" Ryder said through gritted teeth as he continued to twist. "This...is..._it_...for you!"

"I'll...find them...they'll never...be safe...never…" Neville choked, his words becoming less and less audible. "I...will...will...will…"

"You said enough!"

Neville's words were finally silenced by the sound of a wet snap.

Neville stopped struggling and Ryder opened his mouth, releasing the fiend. Ryder rolled off of Neville and stopped to catch his breath.

Neville's neck was broken.

"...Nero…" Neville rasped. "...Nero...will make...pay for this…"

Death rattled the Rottweiler's lungs. His jaw went slack.

And he died.

Ryder, bone-tired and dazed, looked in Neville's direction with contempt and pity.

Then it turned to sorrow.

"You left me no choice."

**To be continued...**


	8. Hide and Seek

**101 Dalmatians II**

**VIII - Hide and Seek**

* * *

Patch and Precious didn't know how long they had been running. It felt like forever.

It was actually a little over half an hour and now it was evening time in the city of London.

In their desperation to escape the bloodthirsty fiend that had hunted them down, - like dogs if you will - they had run north, not realizing that they proverbially taken two steps backward from their appointed destination which is Scotland Yard.

Once they decided they could not run anymore, they stopped to catch their breath.

And they laughed.

Laughed in sweet relief that they have evaded certain death at the paws of such a bloody villian.

"That was close," Patch laughed heartily.

"I know, I can't believe we got away!" Precious agreed, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Good thing Ryder was there, I thought we were goners!"

"Ryder? You know him?" Precious asked.

"Yeah," Patch replied. "He's one of the guard dogs at my family's farm."

"Oh, I thought he might've been Thunderbolt."

Patch raised an eyebrow. He paused as he thought for a moment and then there was realization in his eyes. "Huh."

"What do you mean huh?"

"I never actually thought of it that way." Patch pursed his lips in astonishment. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't see the resemblance. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Ryder and Thunderbolt are brothers or something."

"Thunderbolt?" Precious said skeptically. "That powerhouse of a dog relatec to that ham actor?"

Patch was put off by this off color comment towards his all-time hero. "Hey, Thunderbolt is the world's greatest Wonder Dog!"

"World greatest at being a great big ham," Precious said flatly.

Patch glared. "What do you have against Thunderbolt?"

"Nothing at all. His show just doesn't do it for me."

"Why not?" Patch asked with a bewildered tone. "It's a big hit."

Precious' own tone became impetuous. "Sure, but all that 'hero stuff' and 'saving the day?' It's ridiculous, make-believe!"

"M-make-believe?"

"That's right. Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life. Professionals don't do that! It's just bad television."

"That's not true!" Patch snapped, his voice filled with hurt.

Precious stared at Patch for a moment. Her heart sank as she saw the innocence in his eyes.

_He believes it. More than that, it's like he needs to believe it._

At this moment, Precious felt quite possibly like the worst friend in the world.

_Friend? Some dog like me can't have friends. _

And yet she did. The first real friend she ever had since…

_Winston._

Precious had to force herself to get a grip as she drudged up the memory.

_No tears, no tears! Never again! _

"You ok?" Patch asked.

"Yeah yeah, just had something in my eye," Precious lied. "You know, as much as I don't care for that show, you could go see Thunderbolt for real if you like."

Patch smiled in delight. "Really?!" But he lost his smile when something occurred to him. "How?"

"He'll be in town tomorrow, good timing right?"

"You're not joking?" Patch asked hopefully.

"No!" Precious exclaimed as though she were insulted by the question. "I'm really serious. Just look _there_." Precious pointed a paw towards an old building. "See those posters on the Shakespeare?"

Patch looked and saw that there were indeed posters. He went for a closer look and he saw the familiar trademark triumphant grin of his hero.

And the poster, beneath Thunderbolt's picture, had texting in large yellow letters saying,

**Come see Thunderbolt **

**Junior Deputy Auditions**

**Regent's Park**

**May 15th 1961 at Noon**

**All Dogs Welcome**

_May 15th, that's tomorrow!_

"Wow! What luck!" Patch shouted and he started to prance around like a pony, being so happy and excited. "This is champion!" He cheered. "It's like I was meant to be here!"

Patch then stopped dead when he remembered he wasn't alone. With his peripheral vision, he looked in Precious' direction.

She was covering her mouth with her paw. She was clearly shaking with silent laughter at Patch's silly show of cheering.

"I'm s-sorry Patch," Precious stammered, holding back her laughter. "I mean, you were… you were…"

"Prancing, I know," Patch said dejectedly with his ears down.

"Hey, don't be like that, it was really cute," Precious said.

"Cute?"

Precious choked. And her ears became hot.

"Uh...hey, it's getting late," Precious said quickly trying to change the subject. "We should find someplace safe to stay the night."

"Uh yeah, I guess so," Patch replied, slightly confused by his friend's behavior. "Do you know a place?"

"Plenty, but since we're on the run, that narrows it down."

A chill went up Patch's spine. "Right. Good thing Ryder was there huh?"

"No kidding." Precious looked at Patch with admiration. "And you...I thought you were really brave."

Now Patch's ears started to burn. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?!" Precious said. "You stood between me and Neville as he was coming for us. You saved me from getting crushed by that elephant!"

Patch chuckled nervously. "It was nothing really."

Precious scoffed. "I don't call facing certain death and then shielding me from it 'nothing.'"

"But it was Ryder who saved us."

"From Neville yeah, but not the elephant. But more importantly, you, _you shielded me_ even when you knew you had no chance against Neville. You did not run away. You stood your ground, you even growled. I have never seen anyone do that, _never!_"

Patch was at a loss of words. Not the first he received praise but that was all from family. This was a girl who was singing praises to him.

"What I'm trying to say is, thank you," Precious said.

"A-anytime," Patch stammered nervously as he scratched himself behind the ears.

By the time he got to finish of scratching himself, Patch looked in Precious' direction, and he nearly jumped when he saw that she was right in front of him, just a mere inch away from his face.

She had a very intense look on her face, as though she were contemplating something very important, as though it were very difficult to do so because it seemed to be giving her a headache.

_If she has something important to say, then why does she need to get so close? And why are her ears getting red?_

Exhaling a gasping breath, Precious finally broke the awkward silence.

"There's an abandoned port building on the north side, it's not far."

_Huh? Is that all?_

"It's quiet and warm," Precious said, a bit forcefully. "And the place I made there is very hard to find, even for a dog. The best part, no one can sneak up on us. I set sound traps to make sure of that."

"Perfect!" Patch said sounding pleased but still a bit taken aback by Precious' odd behavior. "Lead the way."

"With pleasure."

And with that they were off.

They passed the old building that possessed the Thunderbolt posters and Patch took one last look at them.

And then he noticed the building itself as well as its unique make and design. Very old and very famous, otherwise he wouldn't have recognized it.

"The Shakespeare's Globe Theater?!"

"Yeah, that it is," Precious said. "Why?"

"But that's not far from the Southwark Bridge! Which means...we're practically back where we started!"

"Well we were running for our lives Patch," Precious said slightly annoyed. "We didn't have time to watch where we were running. Besides, Regent's Park is a bit of a ways from here, you want to be there by noon tomorrow don't you?"

_Oh yeah, Thunderbolt._

"Good point."

As Precious led the way to the port, her mind and heart were racing, not because they were running but because of what she had very nearly done a moment ago.

She had only hoped Patch didn't notice that her ears were still burning.

_I can't believe I almost kissed him._

* * *

"Don't you worry dears, I will hold the fort while you're away," Nanny Cook said kindly as she helped the Radcliff's into their car.

Pongo and Perdita were already in the backseat, chomping at the bit to find their son and bring him home.

"I hope Patch managed to get away," Perdita said still quite distressed from watching the certain danger her son had faced and being unable to do anything to help him.

"Knowing Ryder, I'm certain he made sure of it." Pongo sighed gravely. "We can at least rest well knowing that Neville will never hurt anyone ever again."

Perdita nodded. She was content that her children would no longer have to fear that monster ever again. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to be happy about it.

"Neville may have had it coming but it's a terrible shame his life had to end in such an ugly way."

"Yes," Pongo agreed, a look of pity crossing his face. "He was a monster and to die a monster, a terrible shame indeed."

"I just wish our children did not have to see that," Perdita said sadly.

"I managed to switch the television off before they could see anymore Perdy."

"Yes, but our children aren't fools Pongo. They knew where it was going when Ryder had Neville by the throat." Perdita looked terribly apprehensive. "I could see it on their faces."

"They didn't need to see that," Pongo said mournfully. "But at least now they can rest easy with the knowledge that that monster will never threaten them again, especially dear little Caddy."

"Yes," Perdita said gravely. "There is that."

The vibration that went through the Radcliff car, which made it apparent that it had started and they were now heading out.

Roger drove onto the main road and headed south, onwards to London.

"Get some sleep Anita," Roger said. "I'll let you know when we reach London."

"Thank you darling," Anita replied yawning as she laid back in her seat.

Roger looked into his rear view mirror so that he could see his loyal canine companions.

"It should take us less than two hours to arrive to London Pongo. Then you can track Patch yourselves."

Pongo barked eagerly in response.

"The question of course is what to do with that new friend of his," Roger said.

Pongo blinked in realization.

_Well, if she has no one to care for her, we'll certainly have to take her home with us. Seeing as to how readily Patch protected her at that circus, I would hate to see them separated._

"Pongo?" Perdita said smiling to herself.

"Yes Perdy?"

"You don't suppose Patch and...well, that little friend of his…you don't think they're...?"

Pongo gasped inwardly. "Oh...well, I really couldn't say. But she clearly means a great deal to him." Pongo smiled proudly. "Especially seeing how he stood between her and that mindless brute Neville."

Perdita smiled as well. "Yes. Oh Patch, our little hero."

"And she is quite pretty, isn't she?"

Perdita nodded, still smiling. "And we don't even know her name yet."

"We will soon enough. But first things first, we need to find them and quickly."

"With Neville dead, Patch should be relatively safer." Perdita did not sound so sure. "I hope."

* * *

In an undisclosed location, in what appeared to be some kind of dock house, several dogs filed in. Lying around the room were old bones, half-eaten cushions, and wooden crates assembled to look like some kind of platform for one to stand on if they wished to address the room.

Nero stood on top of it. His lieutenants were assembled, all but one and this annoyed him too no end.

_He's late again._

"Where's Neville? He's supposed to check in."

"Neville?" A look of grim realization crossed Tommy's face "You didn't hear?"

"Hear what?!" Nero snapped. "Where is he?! What did he do this time?!"

"Neville's dead Nero."

Nero stared at Tommy with a look of shock and anger. "What did you say?"

Tommy was afraid to keep going but he was more afraid to hesitate for fear that it would incur Nero's wrath. "Neville got in a fight with that dog Ryder at that circus today. He broke Neville's neck man."

Nero gritted his teeth, so hard that they seemed to be in danger of chipping. "If I find that you lied to me…"

"I'm telling you the truth!" Tommy exclaimed. "I saw his body! Aldo did too!"

Next thing Tommy knew, Nero was on top of him, literally, pinning the Pittbull down on his back.

"You saw this happen?!" Nero roared. "And you did nothing?!"

"It was on tv Nero! There wasn't anything we could've done!"

Nero looked to Aldo and Hugo. Neither showed any signs that they had something different to say than what Tommy was saying. Their silence and the looks on their faces said it all. Nero clenched his eyes, breathing in and out through his nose, tempering his rage. Slowly, he got off of Tommy and let him stand.

"How…?!" Nero shouted, his voice filled with enraged anguish. "How did this happen?"

"It's like this boss, Neville found Precious and she had a little friend with him, another Dalmatian with a patch over his eye."

"You mean like the one who bit Neville's nose?"

Tommy had to summon all of his willpower not to giggle uncontrollably. "He had a harness on him, just like all them 101 Dalmatians did when they left the farm. It's gotta be him, otherwise Neville wouldn't have run him down so hard."

"And Ryder?"

"He's with Scotland Yard now, looking for that pup," Aldo said. "For now, we can't touch him, not unless we wanna get mowed down by the law."

Nero growled. "An opportunity will present itself." His face took on a malevolent look. "Or we can make one."

"How's that?" Tommy asked.

"Ryder's clearly came to London to find a lost pup, I say we make it easy for him. Even if it doesn't work, which it will, it will be a win-win either way."

"Really? What are you planning?"

Nero looked down at Tommy with disdainful annoyance. Then he looked to Aldo and Hugo, who were standing at attention, (mostly Hugo for he was standing still like a statue).

"Patch is his name, I believe, the kid. Find him and bring him to me, alive preferably." Nero grinned. "Dead if necessary."

"The kid?" Aldo said.

"Did I stutter?" Nero replied flatly.

"But he didn't kill Neville," Tommy said.

"Perhaps but he had a role in his demise all the same. Using him as an example will be beneficial, or a tool at least to break Ryder's will and soul, making him feel the agony that he failed to save another soul. As for the Pongo's, it will cause them great suffering to lose one of their own. That much I can do in memory of my dearly departed brother."

"We'd have to find him first," Aldo said. "We don't even know where to start."

"Then let me make it easy and as plain as possible: I want every single one of my dogs in this stinking cesspool of a city," His voice rose into a hideous rage, "after that WORTHLESS, FLEABITTEN MONGREL!"

Tommy hid behind Aldo, trembling like a leaf. Aldo had recoiled slightly but Hugo didn't move an inch.

"I want him alive and bring Precious too. If I'm going to enjoy _my _revenge, I want him fresh."

Nero stomped his foot for emphasis. "Now go! Spread the word! Make it happen!"

Nero's lieutenants swept out like the wind.

**To be continued...**


	9. Night Terrors Part One

**101 Dalmatians II**

**IX - Night Terrors Part One**

* * *

"So what do you think?" Precious asked.

Patch observed his new surroundings. They were in a small compartment of abandoned boat house. Said small compartment must've been the main office at some point before the building was condemned and declared out of bounds. The building was filthy, strewn of boats that were decayed and unfit for use.

However, by the looks of it, it had been spruced up and converted into some kind of den. It looked like someone had taken whatever garbage that could be deemed comfortable from an alleyway and brought here to make a bed. Garbage ranging from discarded throw pillows, blankets that have been reduced to rags, as well as bits and pieces of feather mattresses.

It looked relatively comfortable and there was a single window to the outside which had been boarded with 2x4's. There was also a large window overlooking the warehouse's interior, which was also boarded up. But these windows had small gaps, just large enough for a pup to peek through in case they needed to check for intruders. There were wooden crates before them so that they would not have to trouble themselves with finding something to stand on in order to reach the windows.

"It's...it's not bad," Patch said sounding quite impressed. "Not bad at all. You set this up yourself?"

"I did," Precious answered. "Not like I could ask for help anyway, but even if I could, it wouldn't be a secret anymore."

"So no one knows about this place? Besides me and you?"

Precious nodded. "That's right."

"How long have you lived like this?" Patch asked.

"Didn't I mention? My entire life, as far as I can remember."

Patch looked sympathetic.

Precious didn't like that. "Hey, I'll have you know I'm living quite comfortably."

"All by yourself," Patch responded curtly.

"Yeah, because it's safer that way."

"But...being by yourself."

Precious was starting to get angry. "Who cares?"

"I care."

"Why?" Precious replied with some bitter impertinence.

Patch grunted indignantly. "We're friends." Patch's voice became almost pleading. "Aren't we?"

Precious looked at Patch and when she saw the sadness in his eyes, her look of bitterness became deeply resigned. "Yes...we are."

Patch grimaced. "You don't sound like you're happy about it Precious," he murmured.

"It's not that Patch, it's just…well..." Precious paused and let out a defeated sigh. She said no more as she laid on the throw pillow on the far end of the room, facing away from Patch.

"Just what?" Patch asked.

Precious' head sank into her pillow, indicating her downcast demeanor. "Nothing."

_What's wrong with her? What is she not telling me?_

"Get some sleep," Precious grumbled. "If you want to see Blunderbolt tomorrow, we'd better get to bed now or we'll sleep in and miss him."

_Blunderbolt?! _

Patch decided to ignore that.

He found himself a throw pillow, one which had an uncanny resemblance to the one he was provided during his recovery from the injuries he received during his time at Hell Hall. It had the same burgundy color with the gold lining, stitching and trimming. It was slightly torn and smelt a bit like refuse, but right now, beggars can't be choosers.

Before laying down, Patch took one last look at Precious, who was still curled up on her pillow with her back to him.

"Goodnight Precious," he said.

Precious did not respond in kind. Judging by the gentle rising of her little body, Patch could see that she had already fallen asleep.

_Either she's a fast sleeper or she just wants to be left alone._

Sighing frustratingly to himself, Patch laid down on his pillow, did his best to get comfortable.

The throw pillow was cozy alright, despite its ruined, discarded state.

_It's only been a day...but I miss my family already. Penny. Lucky. Caddy. Freckles. Tripod. Roly. _

Patch concealed a reflexive whimper. _Mother. Dad._

Patch looked to the window nearest to him. Even though it was boarded up, the moon was still quite visible through the gaps that were big enough for him to see through.

_I wonder if they're thinking of me._

* * *

Lucky looked to the open barn window on the second floor from the crate he was laying on. The moon was out and it was almost full.

It was a pretty sight but at the moment, it seemed meaningless to him, like an oil painting to a blind man. He was simply not in the best of states, not since Patch had mysteriously disappeared.

Not so mysterious considering how he went missing was not difficult to figure out.

The truck they were transported in was not 100% safe and Patch had paid for it. It was a miracle that he was not harmed when he fell out of the truck in his sleep.

The revelation of Patch's ordeal gave the remaining 101 a terrible scare, nearly as much of a scare when their mother had fainted upon discovering Patch's missing herself.

Penny and Jewel were quite beside themselves with worry and Cadpig wouldn't stop crying. Thankfully Two-Tone, one of her older sisters and the tomboy of the original 15, was there to be her shoulder to cry on. She didn't mind, not in the least.

Pepper, Freckles, and Thunder were taking it remarkably well but their lack of enthusiasm in their day-to-day activities made it quite clear that they were not themselves, not entirely.

The rest of the 99 were not much better.

Even Roly was deeply affected by Patch's missing and absence. He barely touched his food at dinner time, which has shocked the others, especially Pongo and Perdita.

Watching the Thunderbolt Hour seemed to lift their spirits, if only a little. Even keeping in mind that this is Patch's favorite show hurt them to watch it.

It wasn't until the BBC breaking news bulletin aired that showed Patch alive and quite well did it change things. The 99 cheered and pranced about with vigor.

Of course, many of the pups were asking the same questions when they caught sight of who was accompanying their brother: who is that girl? Where did she come from? And what was she doing with Patch?

Judging by the following muttering, whispers and giggles, especially among the girls, the suspicions were quite clear.

_Patch is in for some serious teasing when he gets home._

Of course, these tidings of joy was short-lived as the appearance of the monster Neville, pursuing Patch and that new friend of his, this produced a new wave of panic among the 101, especially for their mother, for Penny, and dear little Caddy.

_I thought I was going to have a heart attack._

Thankfully, this great danger was short-lived as well as the timely arrival of the guard dog Ryder not only saved Patch's life but also brought an end to Neville's reign of terror forever.

But that's not all there was. There was also the great show of heroism that Patch displayed in favor of this mystery Dalmatian, a girl he couldn't have known for more than half a day.

With bated breaths, the 101 watched as Patch pushed the Dalmatian girl out of the path of an approaching elephant, lest she be crushed to death. And then, because they could not recover in time from that and that Neville had nearly caught up to them, Patch stood between that bloodthirsty brute and this mystery pup, very clearly shielding her with his own body.

_She must be something special._

And now that Patch's location was made clear, Roger and Anita, as well as Pongo and Perdita, made their plans to travel to London and bring Patch home.

This was a difficult thing considering the disasters that have occurred as of late. It was a hard thing to watch their parents go but it was a grim necessity that could not be ignored.

* * *

"_I don't know how long we'll be gone but hopefully we'll be back by morning. So can I count on you to tend to my family while we're away Beatrice?"_

"_Of course Pongo," The Doberman said. "Maddock loves them. He'll protect them as though they were his own. And so will I. You have my word."_

"_Bless you Beatrice," Perdita said as she gave the Doberman a quick nuzzle of thanks. "Bless you both."_

_Beatrice smiled. "Again, not at all. It is our duty and our pleasure."_

"_Mum? Dad?" Lucky said as he humbly approached his parents. "Can't we go with you?"_

"_No Lucky," Pongo said shaking his head. "It may be dangerous and we can't take any chances of you or anyone else getting lost."_

"_Get to bed Lucky," Perdita said giving him a quick kiss. "Stay with Caddy like we talked about. We'll be back as soon as we can."_

* * *

Lucky laid on his side of the wooden crate, continuing to look at the moon that shone so brightly in the night sky.

He looked to his right and saw both Cadpig and Roly sleeping soundly.

_At least they're sleeping ok._

Lucky adjusted himself so he could look down at the ground floor. There by the barn doors, also sleeping soundly were Beatrice and Maddock, the guard dogs who have name their temporary guardians in the absence of their parents.

_Maddock's really nice. The others seem to like him. But that Beatrice, she's pretty intense. Maybe the most intense dog I've ever seen._

Lucky almost shuddered but forced it down so to not cause the crate to move and possibly disturb Cadpig and Roly.

_And then there's Ryder. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was related to Thunderbolt. The way he moved when Neville and those two bruisers attacked the farm. The way he fought when he caught up to them, at least the way Beatrice and Maddock described it. It's uncanny._

Lucky could not tell how long it has been since he turned for the night. For the life of him, he could not seem to fall asleep. Too much on his mind, too much on his heart.

The others have fallen asleep, those who were close enough for him to tell. But not him. Why?

_Patch is still out there. He's still in danger. And there's not a thing I can do about it. Nothing save wait for him to come home. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. What am I going to do?_

Lucky's thoughts were interrupted when his ears perked up as they picked up something.

A sound that was faint but getting louder, as though it were coming closer.

"What's that?"

Lucky was almost startled by the new voice. He looked towards the one who was apparently no longer asleep. "Cadpig, you're awake?"

"Am now. You heard that?"

"Sure did," Lucky answered. "It almost sounds like…"

"Music?" Cadpig said.

"Yeah, that's right." Lucky was starting to get scared. Music? In the middle of the night? On this nowhere dairy farm?

"It almost sounds like-" Cadpig started but was cut off when something plush and rotund bumped into her.

"What the-?!" Cadpig cried as she jumped back startled but she relaxed somewhat when she recognized her other brother.

"Roly?!"

The gluttonous pup was walking about, towards the staircase leading to the ground floor. He didn't seem to acknowledge his other brothers and sisters. It was like he was in a trance.

"Roly?" Cadpig said. "Did you hear me?"

Lucky got up and approached his chubby brother. When he caught up to him, he saw that Roly's eyes were open and unseeing, like he was in a dream. And judging by the drool dripping down his chin, this all could only mean one thing.

Lucky smelt the air and caught something sweet and savory.

"Smells like…" he said.

_The music!_

"And it sounds like…" Cadpig said.

Lucky and Cadpig looked at each other and said in unison, "Kanine Krunchies?"

"Children! Stay where you are!"

The pups jumped at the sound. Even Roly seemed to have snapped out of it.

"B-but," he stammered. "Kanine Krunchies."

"Stay Roly!" Beatrice snapped. "Where you are is as safe as you're going to get."

"I thought this was a safe place."

"_Can it_ Maddock!"

A female pup - one with a peculiar coat of spots as though ink was splashed on her, thus her namesake - approached Beatrice from behind, but not too close.

"What's going on Beatrice?" Only whispered fearfully.

"Visitors without an invitation," was the Doberman's curt answer.

"Visitors who got hold of a Kanine Krunchies truck," Maddock said gravely. "None of their transport routes come anywhere near here. And they don't smell like they work for Krunchies."

All the 98 Dalmatian puppies were wide awake now, either awakened by the theme song melody of their routine meal, the smell of the truck's contents, or the grim tidings that danger was afoot.

"What do we do?" a diminutive pup named Missy asked, her voice quivering.

"Keep away from the doors and the windows!" Beatrice ordered, her voice as sharp as the crack of a whip. "And keep quiet!"

* * *

Two men, one tall and well-built, the other just a breadth shorter, also well built but with a bit of gut and a full beard. Both were dressed as employees of Kanine Krunchies Co.

However, both were not here on respectable business, far from it actually.

"Is this job really worth the trouble?" said the bearded gentleman as he opened the back of the truck.

His partner glared at him as he laid a wide board of wood at the back of the open truck to act as a ramp. "Did you see the heaping pounds he offered us in advance?"

"Yeah, £8,000 is big money. But still…"

"Shut up Willy!" the tall man snapped. "It's just a bunch of mongrels. And the good doctor needs fresh supplies."

"Why can't be just buy them from the pet shops?" the thug - called Willy - asked.

"No idea, but our job is to fetch and carry, not ask questions."

Willy shuddered as though he had a chill. "I wouldn't want to ask him too many questions anyway."

* * *

"Make sure that door is bolted," Beatrice whispered.

Maddock fiddled with the ground bolt of the barn door. It did not budge an inch. "It's secure."

"And the kids?"

"In the back," Maddock replied. "Where's Wilkinson?"

"Don't know," Beatrice said. Her voice seemed to register dread but she kept it under control. "He must be in big trouble."

"What are you going to do?"

Beatrice fixed Maddock with an unrelenting look, one which made it clear how serious she was.

"I'll draw their attention."

Before Maddock could protest, Beatrice silenced his words with a paw.

"You stay with the kids, keep them hidden. Don't come out until I come back, you got me?!"

Hesitantly, Maddock nodded. "Stay safe love."

Beatrice flinched. "I'm not-!" She stopped and then she sighed. "You too."

* * *

The 98 puppies scurried in an orderly manner, to the back of the barn. There was a cellar which lead to the underside of the dairy farm, one which was built during the days of the Second World War in case of bombing. Now it was being used to house nearly a hundred Dalmatian puppies.

"How long do we have to be down here?" Jewel complained. "It's cramped and it's smelly."

"Stop whining Jewel," Two-Tone said. "None of us want to be down here."

"I-I-I-I-I thought t-t-t-t-that this farm was supposed to be a s-s-s-s-s-safe p-p-p-"

"Fidget!" Whizzer cried. "Settle down, we're supposed to be quiet down here."

"Sorry."

Maddock emerged from the opposite end of the cellar. "Kids, this way."

"But I thought we were supposed to stay put," Penny squeaked, quite scared herself.

"They're already inside the barn lass," Maddock said. "We can't let them corner us."

Maddock chose to leave out the part that the men were armed. And they could not risk if they fired live rounds or just tranquilizer darts. Either way, both are deadly to pups.

"Now follow me and stay close kids."

"But there's no light down the tunnel," Jewel cried. "We can't see in the dark."

"Just follow my scent and stay close," Maddock said gently. "Just follow your noses, I know the way because I can smell our way out."

"What about Beatrice?" Cadpig asked.

"She'll be fine Caddy, just stay close and follow me."

As Maddock led the pups down the dark corridor of the cellar, he tried to wrap his head around the fact this grave danger was happening, despite the many precautions that were taken.

_How did these men find us? This was supposed to be a secure location. And is it a coincidence that they came right after the Pongo's left with their pets?_

Maddock's throat lurched as a terrible thought occurred to him.

_Does Scotland Yard house a traitor?_

* * *

Beatrice crouched behind a bed of logs as she used every iota of her concentration to move without making a sound as snuck past the men who were trying to break down the door.

Turning towards the main house, she saw the civilian vehicle which acted as Detective Colin Wilkinson's civilian car as well as a decoy to fool any would-be offenders that the owners were home. His truck was parked by the barn house of the dairy farm.

Beatrice stared at the car. The driver's door was open and no one was inside. The good Detective was nowhere to be seen.

_He must be here somewhere, preparing to make a move against the intruders._

Beatrice peeked out and saw that the men have very nearly finished unlatching the door by force.

Through her peripheral vision, she noticed the bed of logs and she smiled.

_That'll do._

She kicked the logs with one of her hind legs and they toppled very noisily to the ground.

She ran fast.

Then the shooting began.

* * *

The puppies were in quite a state. Some ranged from crying, some were muttering to themselves or to each other of how danger does not seem to want to leave them be, and a few kept their heads. All of them kept moving nonetheless.

"No tears children," Maddock said gently. "We're almost out."

"But Beatrice…" Two-Tone croaked, who was in tears as well.

"Give her some credit lass," Maddock said sternly. "She's been in worse situations."

* * *

"Do you think Beatrice will be ok?" Roly asked worriedly.

"She's tough," Lucky said confidently. "I think she'll be fine."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Cadpig said forebodingly.

"Oh really?" Roly said ironically. "What gave you that idea? The bad men? The gunfire? The dank, dark cellar? The tunnels?"

"Roly," Lucky said severely. "Be nice."

The three pups who lingered in the back of the pack of pups walked side by side, as usual. Lucky, Cadpig and Roly were as thick as thieves. Lucky was particularly close to Patch and Freckles but there was a special bond he shared with Roly and Caddy.

Perhaps it was because they all shared one thing in common which separated them from the others: they were the misfits. Roly had his rotund exterior and gluttonous nature. Cadpig for her unusually vivid imagination and foresight. And Lucky for his smallness, among other things.

That is not to say that their siblings, including the newly adopted 84, were ever cruel or abusive to them for their differences. Quite the contrary, they were quite supportive. There were the occasional ridiculings, but they were quickly and severely shut down by either the parents or the original 15.

But all that aside, the fact that they stood out the way they did gave the three a sense of kinship which was unique, even among their first relations. They were dubbed the Meek Three and it had quite the ring to it, at least that was how Cadpig put it.

As they continued onwards through the tunnel beneath the dairy farm, Lucky and Cadpig paused in their stride when they realized that Roly had fallen behind.

They both turned to see him standing where he was, unmoving.

"Roly, what are you doing?" Lucky asked, sounding annoyed. "Come on, we have to go."

"Uh...I can't."

"Why in the world not?!"

Roly looked sheepish. "I'm stuck."

Even in the dark, Lucky and Cadpig's eyes had adjusted and they could see that Roly had one of his hindlegs stuck in a hole. There was a protruding tree root which kept him from pulling it free, much like a snake wrapping itself around its prey.

Lucky and Cadpig both groaned. Before they could assist their brother however, they stopped dead.

And they listened.

There was the sound of scurrying and running, and guttural, vicious growling.

And they were coming fast.

Cadpig knew that sound all too well. It was the same sound she heard when she was fleeing Neville.

She froze where she stood.

Lucky started digging frantically in order to free Roly's foot.

"Maddock! MADDOCK HELP!" Lucky screamed.

"What?! What is it?!"

"Dogs are coming and Roly is stuck!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

Lucky kept digging but the tree root pinning Roly down was in the way and making the digging difficult.

"Roly!" Penny cried as she ran to aid her siblings. Freckles and Pepper were right behind her.

"His foot is stuck, there's are a tree root!" Lucky cried.

"Ok, alright," Pepper said as he knelt to grab hold of the tree root with his teeth. Freckles followed suit and they yanked on the root as hard as they could.

"Hurry! They're coming!" Roly cried, frightened out of his wits. "I can hear them coming!"

"Just hang on Roly!" Freckles said with the root still in his teeth.

It was dark, but the smell and sound of the invading hounds made it clear that they were getting nearer and nearer.

"Hurry!" Roly screamed. "Please hurry!"

Maddock's familiar scent was crawling closer too.

Time seemed to come to an abrupt halt in Cadpig's mind. Her fear rose to such a height that it seemed to send her mind into some strange sort of lucidity, as though everything around was a bit unreal and warped.

_Maddock won't make it in time._

Her lightning fast mind registered that the tunnel was starting to shake. Several chunks of dirt and rock were falling. Those dogs are not very graceful apparently.

She knew what she had to do.

_I must be out of mind._

On pure instinct, Cadpig dug into a certain point in the tunnel wall to her left. She dug like a mad dog until she reached a cavern on the other side. She smelt the outside air.

"There! Got it!" Freckles exclaimed as Roly's foot got free.

"The tunnel!" Penny cried looking up at the deteriorating cellar cavern. "It's collapsing!"

"HERE!" Cadpig shouted. "THROUGH HERE! THIS HOLE! HURRY!"

All pups present immediately turned to the makeshift hole their youngest sister made. Acting without needing to think about it, they all, one by one, being careful not to get in each other's way, made their way through the hole.

Roly had no trouble apparently since Cadpig took him into account when she made the hole.

"Kids!" Maddock cried. "Get back here!"

But it was too late either way. Whoever the intruder was, he managed to poke his head into the hole in a savage attempt the reach the puppies who went through.

But the dog was too big to fit through the hole but was in too feral a state to see the danger. And as he tried to force his way through, it caused the tunnel wall around him to crack.

The crack reached the ceiling and it caused a chain reaction of disastrous proportions. A loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the tunnel causing Maddock and the invading hounds to freeze in their tracks.

The tunnel was about to come down.

Maddock, in a split second, from where he stood, smelt the outside air that the hole. And he knew that the six pups were out of immediate danger.

_Clever girl._

He turned tail and ran while the invaders tried to do the same.

The same couldn't be said about the unfortunate, desperately-struggling hound still stuck in the hole.

* * *

Freckles was the first to dig his way out.

Penny came next.

And soon enough, all six of them were on ground level, with Cadpig coming out last.

"That was some quick thinking Caddy," Penny said.

"Thanks sis," Cadpig said bashfully. She wrinkled her nose before she sneezed, expelling some dirt.

"Gesundheit," Pepper said.

"Thank you." Cadpig gasped. "Pepper, you're filthy."

"You're not exactly clean yourself."

Cadpig furrowed her brow and then looked down at herself. Pepper was right, like him, she too was covered head to toe in dirt.

Come to think of it, all six of the pups were quite filthy. So much so that they hardly looked like Dalmatians at all.

"Ugh," Lucky groaned. "And we just had a bath too."

"Where are we?" Freckles said.

Penny observed their somewhat new surroundings and she saw the familiar eastern exterior of the residence of the dairy farm. "We're on the east side of the dairyman's house. We're basically the furthest away from the barn."

"Do you think the others made it out okay?" Roly asked strickenly.

Before any of the pups could answer, they heard someone calling out to them.

It was muffled, quite low, as though the speaker calling out to them had been…

...buried alive.

The six gasped sharply in horror.

Cadpig rushed to where she and her siblings had just burrowed out, she bent down towards it and she called out in a loud voice.

"Hello! Maddock! Anyone!"

"Caddy? Caddy! Are you ok?"

_Jewel._

"Yes, I'm alright," Cadpig answered, her voice filled with sharp relief. "We're all alright, Pepper, Penny, Freckles, Roly, Lucky and myself!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Jewel sounded like she was in tears.

"Jewel, are you ok?" Penny asked.

There was a sound of soft sobbing and sniffling. "Y-yes, I was...I was scared you guys got crushed."

"We're ok Jewel, we all are," Pepper said. "What about you? Are you and the others ok?"

"We're fine, we made it to the end of the tunnel. But Maddock…"

"What's wrong with Maddock?!" Lucky asked suddenly alarmed.

"He's fine! He's fine, I think."

"You _think_?"

"He got grazed by a rock," Jewel said. "But it was a small one."

Then they heard a new voice break the hushed silence.

"Oi'! Ya hear that?!"

Not so new.

The pups almost jumped. Someone was coming. The voice belonged to one of the men. They knew because they heard their voices before descending into the cellar tunnel.

"We have to move, NOW!" Penny cried.

"Stay safe Jewel!" Cadpig shouted as she made a run for it with her brothers and sister.

"No wait-!"

But they didn't give her time to finish. They just ran for it.

"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Roly cried, utterly exhausted to this much running.

"We need to hide!"

"Hide where Lucky?!" Freckles exclaimed. "There's nowhere to go."

Lucky looked about, not breaking stride. And then he spotted a vacant car.

Its trunk was open.

"There!" Lucky shouted. "Detective Wilkinson's car!"

* * *

"Roderick! Recall the hounds! Authorities will be here soon!"

"No, they won't!" Roderick - the tall one - snapped. "You cut the lines remember?"

"I did?"

Roderick glared at him. "Did you?" He growled.

Willy thought for a moment. "I think I did."

Enraged, Roderick grabbed his partner by the throat and effectively started choking him. "If we lose this job, you're dead, _got it?!_"

"Hold it right there you scoundrels!"

Roderick loosened his grip, allowing Willy a chance to catch his breath. They both turned to see an old woman, a bit portly, dressed in a maid outfit and wielding a rifle with a scope.

She had the two thugs in her sights.

Roderick was less than impressed. "Point a gun at me will ya?"

He released Willy's throat and began to approach Nanny.

But before he could take a single step, a loud, deafening bang stopped him dead.

A 9mm round went clear into the ground, just a mere inch from the foot that nearly took a step.

"Don't test me!" Nanny exclaimed. "I know how to use this!"

"Y-you?" Willy stammered, clearly shaken. "An old bag-?"

"_This _old bag was marksman for the 117th woman's infantry under her Majesty's service!" Nanny snapped. "Would you like to know how many jack-booted thugs I put in the ground?!"

"You're bluffing," Roderick said, trying to sound brave.

"_Try me._"

Roderick was angry but the look in the old woman's eyes, there was no hesitation in her eyes. She meant what she said. She had _killer _in her eyes.

The two thugs raised their hands in surrender.

"Start running," Nanny said. "Leave the truck."

"It doesn't end here woman," Roderick growled.

"For both your sakes, it had better be."

Roderick and Willy performed a quick about-face motion and made a run for the field.

"We won't get far without wheels," Willy said.

"Don't worry, we have a spare."

* * *

"Are they gone yet?"

"I can't tell," Pepper said putting his ear to the trunk's interior, which was ajar for the pups could not risk locking themselves in.

They all yelped as they heard a very loud, almost deafening bang was heard.

And all six pups retreated into the back of the trunk and cowered behind something soft and misshapen. They could not see what it was because it was dark but they assumed it was luggage belonging to the good Detective.

"Just lie still and keep quiet," Penny whispered. "We just wait till we know it's safe to come out."

"How will we know?" Roly asked.

"Well…"

"Someone's coming!" Cadpig cried.

Penny shushed everyone to keep their voices down and instructed them to not make a sound.

Someone was definitely coming and it sounded like more than one person.

Roly inhaled the air. "That doesn't smell like Nanny or the Detective," he said, sounding nervous.

The trunk closed, leaving the six in darkness.

"Uh oh," Freckles whispered.

The car lurched and sank, right before rising back up again, albeit slowly.

Two persons have just entered the vehicle.

The engine started.

And they started to move.

The pups did not move from where they laid.

"What do we tell the doctor Roderick?"

It was one of the intruders.

"We simply tell him that couldn't get the puppies this time."

"He won't accept failure." This one sounded frightened.

"You just leave him to me," Roderick said but there was a quiver in his voice. "We just need to get away from this farm and ditch the vehicle, simple as that."

Freckles regarded Lucky with a stricken, frightened look. "Nice hiding place Lucky," he said ironically.

**To be continued...**


	10. Night Terrors Part Two

**101 Dalmatians II**

**X - Night Terrors Part Two**

* * *

"Freckles!" Penny snapped, keeping her voice down. "You can't blame Lucky for this."

"I'm not," Freckles defended. "I was just saying this hiding spot was apparently not a very good one."

"In hindsight," Lucky whispered shamefully. "It was pretty dumb to put you guys in a place with only one way out."

"At least those men don't know we're here," Pepper said, trying to add some light to the situation. "Right?"

"As long as they don't open this trunk, the only way out," Freckles grumbled.

Penny was tempted to have words with her brother but she bit them back.

"We could just hide behind this...whatever _this _is when they open the trunk," Lucky suggested.

There was a pause, a rather awkward pause.

"What is this thing in here with us?" Freckles asked.

The six tried to get a good look at the 'luggage' stored with them. It was dark so they could not make out what it was.

Whatever it was, it was huge, lumpy, soft and misshapen.

And it was…

...breathing?

The six had to force themselves to stay put and not make a sound, as terror rose up in them when they realized this thing that they thought was luggage was in fact not luggage, but a living person.

Cadpig, her tiny heart nearly beating out of her chest, observed the human. Her eyes adjusting, she saw that she was looking at the face of a man and she noticed the full red beard sticking out from under the duct tape which covered his mouth.

"It's Detective Wilkinson!" Cadpig cried.

The remaining six gasped.

"Those...degenerates!" Penny gasped. "That was why he wasn't around when they attacked the farm."

"Is he hurt bad?" Roly asked.

Pepper took a closer look at the unconscious detective. He could smell blood. As he examined him closer, he noticed that he had a rather nasty gash in his left temple. Also, his eyes were blindfolded but judging by the purple swelling, it looked as if both of his eyes have been blackened.

"He got clocked real good," Pepper said grimly.

"We have to help him!" Cadpig exclaimed desperately.

Penny nodded in agreement. "Pepper, Freckles, if his hands are tied, can you unloose them?"

"Maybe," Pepper answered.

"I can try," Freckles said doubtfully.

"I'll try to wake him up," Penny said before she proceeded nudge and lick the Detective's face in an attempt to rouse him from unconsciousness.

* * *

"Oh Pongo, how are we ever going to find him?"

"We just need to find his scent Perdy. We know Patch was at the circus today, we just need to track him from there."

It had been a little over 30 minutes since the Pongo's arrived in London. Their pets Roger and Anita took the liberty of renting a room, close to Scotland Yard, right before letting Pongo and Perdita loose to scour the city and find their lost son.

As they were crossing the Westminster Bridge in a rush, the Pongo's contemplated and communed on their next move.

"What about the girl?" Perdita said, not breaking stride. "Patch's new friend?"

"She's clearly a stray, I'd say we take her home with us," Pongo answered resolutely. "Besides, it's not safe in London for a pup all alone."

"The poor dear," Perdita whispered sadly.

"And for the life of me, I don't think I have the heart to split them up."

Perdita chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

Perdita smiled. "I just think it's really sweet."

Pongo laughed as well and he almost choked.

He was suddenly crestfallen. _Patch, you're still too young to bring a girl home._

As the Pongo's crossed the bridge and the first street, they had entered the district of Waterloo.

They were just passing by a few of the first set of buildings until they heard what sounded like soft hissing.

It was not like the hissing of a snake, it sounded more like sharp exhaling through bared teeth.

It was coming from a dark alleyway that the Pongo's had passed a mere moment before the hissing was made.

It sounded like someone was trying to get their attention.

Pongo and Perdita decided to investigate. Pongo made sure to keep Perdita behind Incase it was a predator, possibly a member of Nero's gang.

They were in the alleyway but were made sure not to step too closely.

The end of the alleyway was pitch black but what little moonlight that could reach the angle of the alley that was exposed had shown the outline of a dog, but nothing more.

"I ask that you step out where we can see you," Pongo said sternly. "_Very _respectfully."

The shadow dog obliged Pongo.

He spoke in a voice which was soft yet strong like wild honey. "You've come looking for your son."

"Who are you?" Perdita demanded. "If you know where our son is, you'd better tell us now!"

"He was last seen heading north, he may have crossed the Southwark. That's all I could dig up but you must hurry."

"Why?" Pongo asked.

"Because Nero sent all of his dogs after him."

Perdita gasped.

"W-who?" Pongo asked, deeply shaken.

"Neville's brother."

"But why?" Perdita asked.

"Petty vengeance."

"What on earth for?!" Pongo demanded. "Patch did nothing to him!"

"Nero is strange in the head. His irrational mind has led him to blame your son for the death of his brother, even though it was Ryder who killed him. It was your son whom Neville was pursuing, therefore it is your son who must pay. The girl who is accompanying him is in grave danger as well, by association if nothing else."

Pongo raised an eyebrow, eyeing the mystery dog with suspicion. "How do you know all this? And why are you telling us?"

"I know because I got ears on the inside and so that you might make haste."

"Who are you?!" Perdita demanded with greater heat.

The mystery dog did not so much as flinch at the mother's aggression.

Perdita growled when she received no answer. Pongo put a leg in front of her before she could approach.

"And how do we know we can trust you?" Pongo said.

"Pup fell."

Pongo's eyes shot open. "What did you say?"

"Ryder wrote that before he went after your son, is that not so?"

Pongo, as though in a trance, nodded.

"You best get going then, I'm taking a big chance telling you this. Keep your heads down and don't talk to any dog you don't know about this. They might be with Nero."

"What is the girl's name?" Pongo asked quickly. "Patch's new friend."

"Precious." With that, the mystery dog stepped backwards back into the shadow of the alley.

"Wait!" Perdita shouted as she rushed past Pongo. "Who are you?!"

"Perdita no!"

Perdita did not listen as she reached where the mystery dog stood. She stopped dead when she saw that she just reached a brick wall. There was no sign of him. She couldn't even smell him.

It was as if he evaporated through the wall.

"We should go," Pongo said.

With some frustrated hesitation, Perdita returned with Pongo.

And they were off.

Pongo smiled to himself. _Precious. I like that name._

* * *

Beatrice, her head swimming and her vision disoriented, stirred from her unconscious state.

On shaky legs, she managed to pick herself up.

As her world came into focus, she felt a burning pain in her lower left thorax. She collapsed back onto the floor.

Expecting to fall down hard, instead she fell on something soft and plushy.

_What the…?_

Beatrice looked about and realized she was inside a house. Sore all over, she could barely even turn her head without aching.

_What...happened?_

Beatrice's senses finally cleared up completely and she felt something else: movement. On top of that, she heard soft breathing.

She looked down and saw that she was not alone.

Two-Tone and Inky were sleeping soundly, very closely to her. Actually, judging by their hitching breaths and the way they stirred, it looked as if their sleep has not been so sound.

Beatrice felt something else, something rough and thick wrapped around her body. She saw that she had been bandaged around her middle. Her left leg had been binded as well.

"How are you feeling love?"

Beatrice almost cringed. _Oh no._

"Maddock?" Beatrice groaned as though saying his name caused her pain.

And it did.

"Pace yourself lassie," Maddock said gently. "You've had quite the fall."

Beatrice muttered something but Maddock couldn't quite hear it.

"What's that?"

"The puppies, are they alright?"

Maddock looked grim and downcast. "They made it out of the tunnel."

"_All_ of them?"

"And the thugs have fled and the hounds they sent after the pups went down with the tunnel."

_Did he just dodge my question?!_

She was about to yell but censored herself as she did not wish to wake the little ones who were sleeping by her.

"Did they all make it?! Yes or no?!" She said in a hushed but hostile voice.

Maddock looked pained and he looked down. "They made it out of the tunnel, but six of the pups have counted among the missing."

Beatrice felt her blood freeze in her veins. "Elaborate."

"There's really not much I can tell you. When the tunnel caved in, I managed to herd the puppies out but a rock hit me on the head."

Beatrice, for some reason, had not noticed the white bandage that been dressed on top of Maddock's head.

"You're hurt," Beatrice whispered meekly.

Maddock smiled. "I didn't know you cared."

Beatrice would've smacked him on the nose but she was hardly in a position now to do so.

"The missing puppies? Names."

Maddock cleared his throat. "Pepper, Penny, Freckles, Roly…" His voice sounded choked when he spoke the next name. "Cadpig...and Lucky."

Beatrice felt like a pit grew in her stomach with each name that was given.

"W-What happened?" Beatrice stammered.

Maddock cleared his throat once more before continuing. "It's like this Beatrice…"

* * *

"_Maddock! Maddock!"_

_Maddock groaned, his head still swimming. "What's wrong Jewel?" He said a bit groggily._

"_It's Caddy! And Lucky, Penny, Freckles, Pepper, and Roly! They're gone!"_

_Maddock's lucidity seemed to have returned almost completely, his fight-or-flight instincts kicking in. "What do you mean they're gone?!"_

"_They're not on the farm!" Jewel cried. "No one has seen them since the cave-in! I haven't heard from them since the cave-in! We all called for them but they haven't answered!"_

_Jewel was hysterical._

"_Alright, Alright," Maddock said trying to calm her. "I'll look for them. Stay with your brothers and sisters." _

"_What about Beatrice?" Jewel asked._

"_She just needs to rest for a bit. She's tough, she'll be fine."_

_With that, Maddock exited the dairy farm residence and he tried to find the familiar scent of Cadpig. Although there were 99 of them, each Dalmatian pup somehow had a unique scent and when smelt, a dog can almost always know who it belongs to._

_Running on pure instinct, Maddock found the hole on the east side of the house where the six pups dug their way out before the tunnel collapsed._

_There's their scent, Maddock thought to himself. Now where are those little rascals?_

_Maddock followed the scent and soon discovered, in a path of shallow mud, several sets of paw prints, small ones belonging to a puppy, six sets of them._

_Quickening his pace, Maddock followed the tracks and the scent. Both were fresh._

_And then they stopped, right before a set of tire tracks._

_Maddock's blood ran cold._

_But hope jumped inside of him when he saw no sign of a struggle in the tracks. Judging by the depth and groove of the last set of tracks, it was clear that the pups have jumped up and into something._

_And then something equally horrifying struck Maddock when he noticed a set of marks in the mud as though someone had been dragged backwards into the trunk of the car._

_Maddock had a hunch but he hoped and prayed he was wrong._

_He retraced the tracks towards the edge of the farm and found to his horror, the bowler cap belonging to Detective Colin Wilkinson. It was bent out of a shake and there was a clear sign of a struggle in the dirt._

_His worst fear had been realized._

* * *

_The good Detective had been accosted and abducted, and Maddock wasn't there._

"You can't be serious," Beatrice said horrified.

"I'm afraid I'm dead serious love."

"What could possibly possess them to jump into the trunk of the Detective's car?!"

"They were hiding from those brutes in all likelihood," Maddock said.

"And said brutes stole the boss's car!"

Maddock looked terribly stricken. "And the boss."

Beatrice ground her teeth so hard Maddock thought she might grind them to powder.

But then the sound of gnashing teeth was replaced with something Maddock hadn't heard before.

A whimper.

Maddock's ears flattened. "Beatrice?"

At this point, Beatrice had never felt more shame than she did now. She and her companion had been entrusted with the safety of these little ones and in a span of a few hours, they have lost six of them, under their watch.

_I promised Pongo and Perdita I'd keep them safe from harm. I failed._

Beatrice covered her eyes with the paw that wasn't inhibited by bandaging. She hated showing her tears but now she could no longer help it, even though it went against every fiber of her being, especially with Maddock being right beside her.

_Oh Caddy. Dear sweet little Caddy. I am...so...so sorry._

Maddock laid his head across Beatrice's neck. She flinched incomprehensibly.

"What...what are you…?" she rasped.

"We'll get them back Beatrice," Maddock said gently and soothingly.

"H-how? I'm in no condition to go after the pups," Beatrice said, through gasping sobs. "And you can't go because you're the only one in fighting condition and the others need that."

"Ryder is all over it Beatie," Maddock whispered.

Beatrice felt a vein pop in her neck but she was in too much pain to resist.

And yet, against her better judgment she didn't want to.

"Ryder?"

"I called him. He knows and he will keep an eye out for them." Maddock's voice became graven. "He'll also inform the Pongo's of what happened."

Beatrice gasped. "But...they'll be devastated. We promised…" She was openly crying now. "W-we promised."

"I know love," Maddock said as he gave her a comforting muzzle. "I know."

Despite her pain, physically and emotionally, her mind was in overdrive. Questions burned inside her mind. "What happened to me?"

"You were thrown into a tree."

Beatrice stared at Maddock. "H-how?"

"You chased after the criminals, like a mad dog." Maddock's revelation was not a gentle one. "To hazard a guess, I'd say you smelt the pups and tried to rescue them."

Beatrice let out a shuddering gasp.

"We'll get them back Beatrice."

Beatrice didn't even lift her head to look at him. "How can you be sure?"

"Because those kids are strong, they are smart, and they have the best dogs looking for them right now."

Beatrice said no more. She simply had nothing more to say about the situation. She just laid there and allowed her partner to nuzzle her and speak whatever comfort he had to offer.

* * *

"Look, he's waking up!" Cadpig cried.

Detective Wilkinson stirred and groaned in pain. The duct tape that covered his mouth had been taken off. His blindfold too. As well as the rope that bound him hand and foot.

He tried to open his eyes but they were severely bruised so doing so was painful.

He attempted to get up but stopped when he hit his head against the top of the trunk he was held captive in.

Along with six Dalmatian puppies.

Freckles exhaled sharply. "That looks bad."

Wilkinson finally managed to force his eyes open. One eye was red due to broken vessels. Even though his vision was impaired, he could still make out the small black and white shapes in front of him.

If his eyes were in good condition, they would've shot open.

"H-hey," he said weakly. "Where'd...you rascals...come from?"

And then there was the sound of screeching tires and the pups were thrown forward. Thankfully, something soft cushioned their trajectory.

"Ow," Lucky gasped.

Then there was the sound of car doors opening and closing, and not so gently as the passenger and driver were in a rage.

"Here they come!" Penny cried. "Quick hide!"

"Hide where Penny?!" Pepper shouted. "We're trapped!"

Her terror rising, Cadpig was about to weep until she felt two bruised hands pick her up very gently.

She did not cry out in fright because she knew in her gut that these hands meant her no harm.

"Be...hind…me," Wilkinson said in a low, groaning voice.

He placed Cadpig behind himself, concealing her with his body. The others followed suit, crawling over him to get to the other side.

Footsteps were heard and Wilkinson hushed the squirming, frightened pups.

"Get...ready...to run," He rasped through bloody lips.

* * *

"Pop the trunk Willy!"

"Hold your horses Roddy, I'm getting to it."

Willy fiddled with the trunk's lock.

And after some effort, the fat thug pried the trunk open.

There was the good Detective, lying in a heap, hands behind his back and apparently in a great deal of pain.

"What do we do with him?" Willy asked, stroking his beard.

"Dump him, then we ditch the vehicle."

Willy blinked as he looked at his partner. "You want us to leave him here?"

"Too dangerous to hold onto him." Roderick gave Willy a forceful push towards the trunk. "Get to it. We ain't got all night."

Willy glared at his partner, adjusting his jacket before reaching for Wilkinson.

_Could've sworn we blindfolded and gagged him._

The Detective's eyes opened and without warning, grabbed Willy's beard and tugged.

Willy cried out in pain and surprise as his head collided with the trunk's door. Disoriented, he wobbled backwards before falling on his back.

Roderick was stunned but only for a moment. He reached into his coat and immediately pulled out a revolver.

Wilkinson was upon him in a flash.

Fortunately, Roderick did not have enough time to cock the weapon and the good Detective brought the villain down to the ground. Both fought over the weapon, grappling like wild animals.

In the midst of the chaos, the six Dalmatian puppies all hopped out of the trunk.

They found themselves in some kind of alley and without needing to think about it, they made their way to an abandoned building whose door was open.

None dared to speak for fear that even a sound would alert the thugs to their presence.

They ran and they did not look back.

Not until they heard the gunshot.

They stopped dead.

Their hearts racing, they looked to each other, with terrible dread to see if anyone of them had been shot.

"Is everyone ok?" Penny said, deeply shaken but under control.

"I'm ok," Pepper announced.

"Me too," Freckles said.

"Me th-th-three," Roly said, shaking like a leaf.

"Lucky?" Penny callee out.

"I'm good," he said.

"Caddy?"

Cadpig did not answer.

Penny started to panic when her little sister did not answer. Was she hurt?

"Caddy?!"

She along with her brothers searched frantically and in a split second, there she was, sitting by the still open door and she appeared to be peeking from the corner of the door.

She was as still as a statue.

"Caddy?" Lucky said. "Get back here, we need to run!"

She did not move.

"Caddy!" Penny shouted as she approached her sister. "Come on before they-!"

She froze in her tracks as well when she saw what Cadpig was looking at.

Lucky, Roly, Freckles and Pepper were startled by how their sisters were acting. They approached one of the boarded-up windows of the building and when they saw what spooked their sisters, they too froze dead in their tracks.

"You killed him Roddy! You shot him dead!"

Roderick looked down at the stiff he had just made, the smoking revolver still in his hand.

"So what?"

Willy was aghast. "_So what?! _You killed a copper!"

"It was him or me Willy," Roderick said dismissively.

"Bugger!" Willy exclaimed shocked beyond belief. "You're sick!"

Roderick fixed his partner with a seething glare, right before raising his weapon at him.

"No!" Willy screamed putting his hands up. "Don't-!"

The fat thug stumbled back, his jacket stained red, as the bullet tore through his chest. He fell to his knees, took one look at his partner and spoke.

"R-Rod…" He rasped. "What...have...you...done?"

Roderick shrugged. "A whole pie is better than one cut in two. Besides, you're starting to slow me down."

A tear rolled down Willy's cheek before he fell flat on his face. He did not get back up.

Roderick took one last look at his partner. His look was like a vet who had just put down his own dog. "Sorry."

He closed the trunk of the car, he got back in, and he drove off into the night.

* * *

Upon seeing that the thug had gone, Cadpig burst into tears.

Penny held her hysterical sister as tears of her ran down her face.

Pepper bowed his head, being the eldest of the group, he tried to remain strong. It was short lived as heavy but suppressed sobbing uttered from his lips.

Freckles wept softly to himself as Lucky laid his head against his brother's back, sobbing as well.

Roly simply sat quietly with his back to them, shaking as though he had a chill.

"We need to go Caddy," Penny whispered.

Sniffling, Cadpig nodded in understanding.

"Go where Penny?" Freckles asked. "We don't even know where we are."

"Let's find some stairs," Penny exclaimed. "If we find a roof, we can find where we need to go next."

* * *

The walk upstairs was harder than their previous journeys tonight. Not even when those mad hounds hunted them in the tunnel were they more in a state than they were now.

Cadpig looked very small, not because of her diminutive physique but because of the burden she carried on her back, the burden that was being carried by all her siblings.

None of them had ever seen another man die before. Death was no longer an unfamiliar concept to them as they had, half a year ago, witnessed the (temporary) death of one of their own siblings.

Even though they haven't known the good Detective very long, his goodness, kindness and benevolence towards them had left its mark on them. So to witness his own murder would not be an easy thing for them to overcome.

_Detective Wilkinson was so nice to us, _Cadpig thought. _He didn't deserve that being done to him._

"Caddy?"

Cadpig looked up to see Lucky right beside her. His eyes were filled with tears, same as hers, but they looked different somehow, as though the fear that had inhabited them was slowly departing.

This troubled Cadpig.

"I know it's hard Caddy," Lucky said. "But we have to be brave, as Detective Wilkinson was."

"A-Aren't you afraid?" Cadpig hiccuped.

"I'm terrified," Lucky answered. "But we have to keep it together, especially now that we're so far from home."

Cadpig looked back down at the stairs without stopping from walking and she sighed heavily.

"I know," she said.

They had just exited the stairs that lead to the rooftop.

"There was nothing we could've done," Lucky said.

"I know," she said again.

Before they could speak further, both Cadpig and Lucky bumped into the backsides of Penny and Freckles.

"Hey!" Cadpig cried indignantly.

"Oh...bugger!" Pepper said sounding dumbfounded.

He was standing on his hindlegs, balancing himself over the edge of the rooftop so he could see over it. Penny, Freckles and Roly were doing the same.

"What's the matter_?_" She said.

"Come look and you'll see," Penny said, sounding equally apprehensive.

Lucky and Cadpig, pushed their way past Roly and Pepper to see what they were gawking at.

Before they could however, a great and tumultuous sound echoed in the night, as a massive bell had been rung.

The pups, frightened out of their wits, fell to the floor. Lucky immediately recovered, dumbfounded by the sound.

"That...that like sounded Big Ben!" He cried.

"That's because _it is _Big Ben Lucky," Freckles said.

Lucky got up quickly and stood on the edge of the roof and he saw in the distance, as though it were a massive pen, Elizabeth Tower, otherwise as Big Ben.

And not too far away, Lucky saw another familiar sight, the castle fortress known as the Tower of London.

"We…" Lucky stuttered, "We're in London."

"Sure looks that way," Roly said nervously.

"Oh bugger," Freckles groaned. "Mum and Dad are going to kill us."

**To be continued...**


	11. Thunderstruck

**101 Dalmatians II**

**XI - Thunderstruck**

* * *

Morning.

Light crept in through the small openings of the wooden two by fours boarding up the window. The light spanned over the room and when it reached a pair of eyes (one of which was shrouded in blackness), they squinted and opened, very slowly.

Patch moaned as he stirred from where he slept. He yawned hugely and stretched out his body, loosening his tired joints.

As he scratched behind his ears, Patch heard the sound of someone else stirring from sleep.

Remembering who he had just spent the night with, Patch felt his blood rush to his ears but he steadied himself. "Good morning Precious."

"Morning," she said curtly.

"Did you sleep ok?" Patch asked.

"I did, you?"

"Eh, not bad."

Precious stood up and stretched as well. She looked upwards at a clock she had scrounged from an alleyway.

"We better get going if we're going to make the Thunderbolt auditions."

Patch looked at her. His eyes then widened in remembrance. _Oh yeah! Thunderbolt is coming today._

"How much time do we have?!" Patch asked excitedly.

"Two hours," Precious replied yawning.

Patch gawked at her. "How will we make it to Regent's Park in two hours on foot?!"

Precious smiled. "We're not going on foot."

"We're not?"

"Nope," Precious chirped. "We're hitching a ride."

Patch tilted his head.

"First things first," Precious said as she rummaged through of box filled with discarded knick-knacks. "We need to get that harness off you. It's no good to have that getting caught in something again."

* * *

Patch watched as the pavement moved at an alarming rate, as one would expect when you're sitting in the back of a moving truck.

"Have you ever done this before?" Patch asked.

"I lost count at 32," Precious said who was seated by him.

Patch grunted in surprise. "And you're sure this will take us to Regent's Park?"

Precious nodded. "All Kanine Krunchies' trucks are heading to Regent's Park for today's event, since Thunderbolt is the mascot."

Patch nodded in understanding.

"And if we're lucky, we can help ourselves to some Kanine Krunchies."

Patch had a look of uncomfortable uncertainty. "Um...alright but only if we have no choice."

"No choice?" Precious said, looking tense. "You'd rather eat out of the garbage?"

Patch gulped. "N-not really."

"Then follow my lead," Precious said firmly. "Don't worry, loads of dogs will be there. There ought to be plenty of free treats to go around."

"I sure hope so, 'cause I'm hungry."

The truck came to a slow and steady stop as there was a red light.

"Alright," Precious said. "Just hold onto the bumper so you don't fall off when the truck moves."

"Got it," Patch replied and then one of his ears perked up. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

In the silence of the traffic's pause, Patch and Precious heard the sound of greedy and messy eating.

And it was coming from inside the Kanine Krunchies truck.

"Sounds like someone had the same idea," Precious said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Fear rose up in Patch's spine like a worm crawling under his skin. "Do you think it's any of Nero's gang?"

"Doubt it," Precious said. "The way they're eating, it sounds too..._polite._"

"_That's_ polite?"

"Compared to actually hearing how Nero and his gang eats? Yes." Precious looked to the side of the road and observed a passing street sign. "We're almost there. As soon we reach Regent's, we scram. I'd rather not take any chances."

Patch nodded anxiously. "Right."

* * *

As the Kanine Krunchies truck approached the park, the unlikely sight of two Dalmatian puppies hitching a ride on the truck's bumper was difficult to miss. A pair of eyes lingering in a dark alley caught sight of the two.

The observer raised an eyebrow at the odd scene.

_Not exactly subtle._

* * *

The truck came to a stop at a curb bordering on Regent's Park. Patch and Precious immediately hopped off and made a beeline for the center of the park where the Thunderbolt event was taking place.

The driver got out of his truck and opened the back to check its cargo. Before he could however, he noticed that he was parked in a yellow zone and went back to adjust the truck's position. As soon as he went back around the truck, six white and black shapes emerged from the truck's open cargo bed.

And they made their way into the park and hid themselves behind some trees, completely out of the truck driver's line of sight.

"That was close," Lucky said.

"You can say that again," Freckles agreed.

"What do we do now?" Roly asked nervously just before he belched. "Excuse me."

"Gross Roly," Cadpig exclaimed with disgust.

"It was those Kanine Krunchies," Roly chuckled nervously before another belch left his lips. "I must've ate a whole bag."

Pepper shook his head. "You did."

Roly gawked at his brother. "I did?"

Pepper shrugged. "It was a small one."

"We'd better get going," Penny said with an annoyed tone. "We can't linger here."

"Where do we go Penny?" Freckles asked anxiously.

Penny looked at her siblings. It wasn't her first choice to board a Kanine Krunchies truck in order to get as far as possible from the crime scene that took place last night. It was a grim necessity and she and her siblings were hungry. Stealing put a bad taste in her mouth but they were short on options.

And now here they were in Regent's Park, in a city that was no longer safe for them and with no practical way to get back to their family.

"We find Patch."

The sudden and confident response shook Penny from her anxious stupor. She, like the rest of her siblings looked to the one who spoke.

Their youngest.

"Ryder and Mum and Dad are already on Patch's trail," Lucky said. "If we find Patch, they'll find us too - or we'll run into them as we look for Patch."

Lucky looked to see his siblings staring wide eyed at him. It was making him uncomfortable.

"What?"

Amazed, Penny exhaled sharply. "Luck, where on earth did you get an idea like that?"

Lucky's ears dropped. "I know it sounds crazy but-"

"No no!" Penny said cutting him off. "It's brilliant Lucky."

Lucky's tail started wagging. "Really?"

Penny smiled. "Yeah!.So how did you come up with that?"

"Thunderbolt!" Lucky replied giddily. "Episode 23, Shadowplay!"

Cadpig shook her head with a smile. "Of course."

"Good call Luck," Pepper said. "Where do we start?"

Cadpig looked up at the trunk of a tree. "Ten guesses," she said pointing her paw at it.

The other five pups approached Cadpig so they could have a better look at what she was pointing at.

There on the trunk of the tree was a poster and there was a picture of a German Shepherd who had a triumphant grin on his face. This dog's identity was unmistakable.

"THUNDERBOLT!" Lucky cried out in amazement and delight.

"AND HE'S IN LONDON!" Freckles gasped.

"AND HE'S HAVING AUDITIONS FOR A JUNIOR DEPUTY!" Roly screamed.

"KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN!" Penny snapped.

That shut them up.

"If we're going to find Patch, we need to keep a low profile," Penny said sternly. "Nero's gang may very well be on the move especially with Neville dead and all."

Cadpig immediately became rigid upon hearing the name of her predator, the very embodiment of her nightmares.

She began to tremble slightly and she whimpered.

Penny looked shamefaced. "Oh no."

"Hey hey," Lucky said as he nuzzled his sister. "Caddy, it's alright. Neville is dead. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

"I know," Cadpig sniffled. "But hearing his name alone…"

"I know," Lucky said as he continued to nuzzle and comfort his sister. "I know."

Pepper sighed grievously. As much as he didn't want to deprive his youngest sister of having a moment to collect herself, staying in one spot was too risky. "I don't want to rush anyone," he said gravely. "But if we're going to find Patch, we need to get moving."

* * *

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! DOGS OF ALL AGES! IT IS WITH DEEPEST PRIDE AND GREATEST PLEASURE THAT WE WELCOME YOU HERE TODAY!"

Holding a standard vintage microphone in his hand, the producer - a portly middle aged man with a slightly bald head and thick mustache sporting a cheap suit - of the Thunderbolt Franchise addressed the audience whilst standing on the stage which had been rented and placed in Regent's Park for the purpose of this once in a lifetime event.

"AND NOW, IT IS WITH EVEN GREATER PLEASURE THAT I WELCOME THE CANINE OF CALAMITY, THE HERO AMONG HOUNDS, THE ONE OF A KIND WONDERDOG, THUNDERBOLT!"

Like lightning, a brown blur shot out of the blue curtains and upon the stage the all too familiar form of the veteran German Shepherd that was their iconic hero.

The people cheered as though royalty had been presented to them on the day of their coronation. The multitude of dogs that accompanied their humans barked and howled in cheer to the Wonderdog they so adored.

Basking in the elation of the crowd, Thunderbolt with his signature grin, stood up straight with his chin in the air, giving the best possible pose he could muster.

Patch could barely believe his eyes.

"I don't believe it! It's really him!"

"In all his glory," Precious said trying to sound impressed.

Flashes of photography went off in the crowd like a Christmas tree about to blow. Every media representative in the UK were present, from BBC to Reach plc, each trying to get the best picture possible of one of the world's most beloved television stars.

It was not just the humans who were cheering madly for the Wonderdog but it was mainly the canine community who idulating him as though Elvis Presley had come to town. Their barks and cheers were long and loud, but even louder were the barks and cheers from the she-dogs.

They were practically clawing their way to the stage and it took the intervention of certain human security guards to hold them back.

Precious shook her head at the sight. "No self control whatsoever."

"And now, without further adieu, we shall now begin the auditions for the opportunity to star as a guest, specifically that of deputy, all ages are welcome! I repeat: all dogs of all ages are welcome!

With a huge smile on his face and his tail wagging like crazy, Patch stepped forward.

* * *

"Patch would definitely not pass up a chance to be a guest on the Thunderbolt show," Pepper said.

Freckles nodded. "Yup."

Cadpig was attempting to see through the massive crowd of humans and dogs. "I can't see anything! I can't even make out the stage!"

"We'll have to go around," Penny said.

Cadpig looked at her big sister. "Can't we just go through the crowd?"

Penny looked back at her with a hard look. "And risk getting stepped on?"

Cadpig recoiled and Penny clenched her eyes, realizing her tone.

"Sorry Caddy, this whole thing just bothers me is all."

"It's ok, I'm not too happy about our situation either."

A hush was heard and the crowd quieted themselves as though a performance that required their silence was about to begin.

The sound of barking followed. Enthusiastic barking as though it were a spectacle.

"Sounds like the auditions have started," Lucky commented.

"We'd better hurry then," Pepper said. "It's gonna take some time to reach this stage what with this crowd and all.

* * *

Patch waited at the wooden steps leading to the stage. He was panting with anxiety. There were two dogs in front of him: a brown Great Dane and a golden furred Collie.

So far, more than a few dogs, of all shapes and sizes, have stepped onto the stage and stood by Thunderbolt as they gave the best heroic bark they could muster.

The contest: the one with the best heroic Bark will be given the privilege of starring as a guest on the Thunderbolt Hour.

Thus far, the barks have ranged from mediocre to amateurish and some were just downright pathetic.

While Patch was quite excited, actually far more excited than he has ever been in his life, to meet his hero, he wasn't entirely sure about being on stage with him, especially considering how pathetic his own bark is.

It had been several months since that day when they first arrived at the farm, but the memory of when he attempted to give the best heroic bark he could muster, one he had hoped would be much like the heroic bark of his hero, and what came out instead was the sound that one would expect if you had sat on a squeaky toy.

And all 98 of his siblings, plus his mother and father were there to hear it.

_I know no one had laughed but I don't think I have ever been so humiliated in my life. And now I'm going to risk being humiliated all over again._

"You sure you want to do this?"

Patch flinched with a start and looked to his left.

Precious' sky-blue eyes were soft and the corners of her mouth were tight. Her eyes shone with concern.

Patch's anxiety and despondency did not go unnoticed.

Patch clenched his jaw but he stood his ground. "If I don't, I'll regret it. I won't get another chance like this Precious."

Precious looked at him as though she were sizing him up. "So you're just nervous is all? Because you're about to go on stage with your _hero_? Is that all that's bugging you?"

Patch opened his mouth but then closed it before he could answer.

Precious frowned. "Feels like there is."

"It's embarrassing."

"It can't be that bad Patch."

"My bark...my bark is...well...it doesn't sound right."

Precious raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so...what? Is it scratchy? Too high? Squeaky?"

Patch flinched again.

That was all Precious needed.

_He's too honest for his own good. _"Ok ok, I can help if you like?"

"How?"

"I know a few tricks of how you can _really_ bark. And I mean really bark."

"Oh. Ok."

"Alright," Precious said as she stood up in a commanding position. "Now straighten yourself out. No slouching. Hardly a heroic look."

Patch stood up straight as best as he could, imagining as though he were Thunderbolt himself.

"Now the key is to bark from your gut, not your throat. Think you can do that?"

"I can try."

"Try isn't good enough," Precious said sternly. "You have to do it or don't do it at all."

Patch tilted his head. "So do or do not?"

"Um… yeah."

Before Patch could even begin the practice, he felt himself being hoisted up by human hands.

"This one doesn't have a collar," said the producer's red-haired secretary. "And his owner doesn't seem to be anywhere sight sir. Should I call the pound?"

At the word 'pound,' Patch whined in fear. Precious crouched and bared her teeth as though she were about to spring onto the secretary.

"Not so fast Ms. Evans," the Producer remarked. "Let me have a look at him."

The secretary - Ms. Evans - shrugged as though she couldn't care less. She held Patch up so that the producer - Mr. Donahue - could get a better look at him.

Donahue stroked his mustache as he looked at Patch, who didn't bother squirming, frightened as he was. "Hey Ernie, c'mere for a sec."

A bespectacled young man holding a clipboard approached his employer. "Yes sir?"

"Take a look at this pup, looks familiar to you?"

Ernie stroked his clean-shaven chin as he too observed the Dalmatian pup. He took notice of the black patch over his right eye as well as the right ear that was all-black while the left was completely white, not a spot on it.

Ernie's eyes opened with recognition. "Now that you mention it sir, this pup looks an awful lot like the one that was at the circus yesterday."

"Indeed," Mr Donahue said with a greedy-looking smirk. "The very same that had stood up to that mad dog that disrupted everything. If we can get this pup on the show, it could send our ratings through the roof."

"If this pup can even bark sir," Ms. Evans said.

"Ah yes," Donahue said with a frown. "Otherwise the attendees will be mighty upset that this pup got on the show without needing to bark. And we can't afford to be unpopular for any reason. Put him on stage Ms. Evans."

None too gently, Ms. Evans slid Patch across the stage and he very lightly collided with something large and soft.

Shaking his head to dislodge the dizziness, Patch looked at what he had just bumped into and saw that it was a dog. Very slowly and nervously, he looked up and he recognized the canine at once.

Thunderbolt the Wonder Dog with his iconic, signature and heroic grin. His canine teeth seemed to gleam in the sun.

Patch gawked at his hero, not quite sure what to say or do.

"Well...go ahead," Thunderbolt insisted suavely, still smiling as though it was making him look good.

Patch then turned towards the seemingly endless crowd of people and dogs, numbering in the hundreds. Having an eye for quality, Patch almost immediately took notice of the cameras filming the event at this very moment. And then there was the microphone just inches away from him. It did not take him long to notice the multitude of speakers surrounding the area. The crowd and all those tuning in would hear everything.

"Uh...we're not on live television are we?" Patch almost whispered.

"Why yes, we are," Thunderbolt answered. "Why?"

Patch gulped. "Oh brilliant."

He looked about his surroundings and saw that every pair of eyes were looking at him. Every man, woman, and child and dog alike.

"Well c'mon kiddo," Thunderbolt said impatiently. "We haven't all day."

Patch pursed his lip. Right now, he wanted nothing more but to crawl into the deepest hole and bury himself in it.

He looked in Precious' direction who was still settled at the bottom of the stage steps where he left her.

She was looking at him with a look that almost looked like pity. Maybe even sympathy. Whatever it was, it didn't help Patch's anxiety.

He looked at her as though she might offer him some form of strategy of getting out of this situation with as little pain and as little discomfort as possible.

She simply shrugged her shoulders in a 'I don't know' fashion.

_This is the worst day of my life._

Thunderbolt grimaced. "C'mon kid, we're not getting any younger."

_Ok, just take a deep breath. From the gut, not the throat._

Patch inhaled deeply and with all the willpower he could muster, he barked.

It was a bark but it hardly sounded like a bark.

It sounded more like a mouse if it had been choking.

Silence had fallen on the crowd.

And then there was laughter.

_Ok, now this really is the worst day of my life._

* * *

Lucky, Cadpig, Penny, Roly, Freckles and Pepper all stood stockstill as the sound of that pathetic, squeaky yelp rang out throughout the entire crowd.

"What was that supposed to be?" Penny said quite perplexed.

And then there was laughter all around. In fact, the laughter seemed to echo throughout the entire park.

Roly laughed. "That was the most pitiful bark I heard yet."

The other pups were not laughing.

Cadpig was looking at the ground, quite beside herself with shock. "Did...did that sound familiar to you?"

"Familiar?" Lucky said scratching the back of his ear. "Now that you mention it, I could've sworn I heard that bark before."

"If you can call that a bark," Roly laughed, practically rolling over in hysteria.

Penny furrowed her brow, rubbed her temples, trying to remember. She heard that bark before. It was in the back of her mind and now she was doing her darndest to coax it out.

Penny heard a sound, one that sounded rather distressed. But she couldn't quite hear it over the laughter of the crowd.

"What did you say?" Penny asked. "I didn't hear you Caddy. What did you say?"

"It's Patch," Cadpig whispered.

Her words caused her siblings to freeze.

Penny's mouth dropped open.

Freckles fell on his haunches.

Roly stopped laughing.

Pepper's eyes shot open.

Lucky just sat there, blinking dumbly.

Nothing could be heard now but the laughter of the crowd.

* * *

Patch thought to himself If Nero and his gang didn't kill him, then this growing feeling of embarrassment and humiliation will.

It seemed like a full minute had passed since the laughter had begun. But to Patch, it seemed like hours, perhaps longer.

He couldn't handle this.

It was as if the whole world was mocking him, telling him how inadequate he was through their resounding laughter.

Patch wanted to run. Run and hide from the light and let the blackness take him.

The laughter seemed to deepen and slow into a deep, malevolent rumble.

Patch was shaking now.

And worse yet, his all-time hero was laughing as well.

"Hey, who sat on a squeaky toy?" Thunderbolt guffawed.

This only seemed to make the crowd laugh even more, for those who can understand him anyway.

Even his hero laughed at him.

Patch bowed his head. He felt something wet roll down his snout and it dripped off his nose.

He saw the transparent droplet hit the floor of the stage and that was when he realized he was crying.

Precious, the only one besides Patch who did not laugh, took notice of the fear. Hot anger thundering in her veins, she decided that she had enough.

She hopped onto the stage, stood next to Thunderbolt who was still laughing, and with all her might, she stomped onto his foot.

Thunderbolt's laughter turned into a pained yelp. Precious twisted her paw, eliciting a greater cry of pain from the Wonderdog.

The crowd fell silent, utterly dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events.

Precious finally let up and Thunderbolt retracted his hurt paw.

"That really hurt!" Thunderbolt cried before turning angrily on his assailant. "What's the big idea kid?!"

"Shut your mouth!" Precious exploded. "You listen up Blunderbolt and you listen good!"

Thunderbolt recoiled at the Dalmatian girl's ferocity. He was so startled that he did not say a word while she continued in her tirade of exceeding wroth.

"You think _that _hurt?! Can you imagine what you just put Patch through?! I knew you were bordering on egomania but I never thought you could be so immature! Do you have any idea of what that boy had gone through just so he could meet you today?! HOW DARE YOU?!"

Thunderbolt said nothing. His ears were folded back and whatever anger he had felt turned to shame.

Precious' anger softened but she was still quite cross. "Apologize to him, right now."

Thunderbolt sighed. "Yes," He said in a tone that was no longer theatrical, it was humble, even sorrowful. "Alright, I'll do that." Thunderbolt looked where the kid was and saw that he was no longer there. "Where did he go?"

Precious, startled by this question, turned her head and gasped to see that Patch was not here.

_He must've slipped out while I was giving this guy a piece of my mind._

Precious gave Thunderbolt one last angry look before storming off. Before she disappeared behind the curtain of the stage, she turned to give one final word. "This isn't over! You'll pay for that! I promise you!"

And she swept off the stage.

Seeing that the angry Dalmatian was gone, Thunderbolt sighed wearily. Seeing that there was no one left to audition for the part of guest star, he retreated down the steps so that he might retire to his trailer.

Before he could do so however, six pups blocked his path. They were all Dalmatians, clearly siblings (despite one of them being very portly) and they all looked quite angry.

There was something familiar about these six.

Thunderbolt had a bad feeling about this. "Can I help you kids?" He asked.

One of them, a girl and clearly one of the eldest, spoke. "That was our brother you were making fun of."

Thunderbolt smiled nervously. "You don't say."

**To be continued...**


	12. Blast from the Past

**101 Dalmatians II**

**XII - Blast from the Past**

* * *

_That was brilliant, just bloody brilliant._

Patch continued to walk along the public sidewalk outside of Regent's Park. Even if it had only been a few minutes ago, the humiliation felt it had carried on for years and had festered up until now.

Not even when he had uttered that pathetic bark in front of his family on the moving van was the sting of embarrassment so great.

_If it weren't bad enough, it had to be in front of...her._

Patch winced. Precious was right there. She saw and heard the whole thing.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

Patch turned around to see if anyone was following him. Precious was nowhere in sight.

She had not followed after him.

Patch's heart sank like a stone.

_That figures, my bark was so pitiful that even she won't have anything to do with me._

Patch turned back and continued on his sorrowful stride. He had his head down, therefore he was not watching where he was going.

Had he did, he would not have so carelessly crossed into an open street.

It wasn't until he heard the unmistakable sound of an incoming milk truck that he realized where he was.

The driver did not seem to notice him.

Patch's mind screamed at him to run but his legs didn't seem to listen.

As the truck closed in on him, Patch saw an unexplainable flash of light before his very eyes.

_So your life really does flash before your eyes._

* * *

_The day Patch got his first collar which had his name and address._

_Watching Thunderbolt for the very first time and how much it had delighted him._

_The talk he had with his father about his responsibility as the eldest sibling and how his brothers and sisters would look to him. He accepted the responsibility happily and nervously._

_Since then, he had put up more of an effort to not only be brave but to show it._

_Playing with his brothers and sisters. Making sure Cadpig and Lucky were never left out. _

_Watching the Thunderbolt Hour with his family on the night they were dognapped. _

"_That old Dirty Dawson, the yellow-livered old skunk. I'd like to tear his gizzard out."_

_His mother did not approve of that kind of talk at all._

_Being put to bed after mother and father went for a walk in the park._

_Hearing the sound of a commotion in the house. Hearing Nanny cry out in anger and distress. Patch was up in a flash. His brothers and sisters were awake as well. _

_Cadpig was whimpering in fear. She had barely fallen asleep due to a terrible feeling that something was going to happen._

_Penny was standing by her, trying to calm her down. _

_Roly was hiding under the blankets. _

_Lucky was curled up by Patch, trembling. Before Patch could console him however, the curtain of their bed was pulled back and a portly, thuggish looking man started grabbing his siblings and shoving them into a black bag. Patch attempted to bite the hand that was about to grab Penny but he ended up getting grabbed instead. _

_All 15 puppies, including himself, were stuffed into that bag. There was barely enough room for all of them. Roly kept kicking Patch. Freckle's haunches were too close to his face. Cadpig was crying. Penny could only console her with words as she was stuck between Two-Tone and Dipstick. _

_The bag smelled of rotten fish and alcohol. The combination was enough to put the pups to sleep. Next thing Patch knew, they were still in the bag and moving in a way that was not unlike the way they felt when they went for a ride in Roger's car. _

_There were voices speaking and it was clear that there were two men in the vehicle there were riding in._

_Jewel complained of how the bag and the smell was ruining her coat. Two-Tone groaned and remarked that they had more to worry about than her appearance. Those two were like night and day. _

_Dipstick wondered out loud of who would go through the trouble of sending two men to steal them away in the middle of the night._

_Purdy was fearful that Nanny had been hurt by the two thugs. _

_Whizzer was squirming in the bag as though nature was about to call. Thunder and Pepper told him that if he didn't hold it in, they'd bite him._

_It felt like hours later before they arrived at their destination. It was a massive house that looked like it could barely stand. Patch heard one of the blokes refer to it as Hell Hall._

"_Charming name," Jewel had commented._

_It had been several weeks since the 15 had been taken there. Apparently, there were other Dalmatian puppies who had been brought there. Quite a number. Including themselves, there were 99 altogether. What could those men want with so many puppies?_

_They were all quite scared, especially Patch but he did not show it. Remembering what his father had said, what Patch had promised, he did his very best to be as brave as possible for his siblings, assuring them that help would come, that their parents would find them._

_Thankfully, there was a telly that would help keep them occupied._

_Lucky was standing on it as he often did._

_And that fat bloke Horace shoved him down, called him a runt._

_Lucky flinched at that. That was the one word our parents urged us to never use as it was an ugly term to call one that was born small._

_Patch felt his blood thunder in his veins. No one talks to his baby brother like that._

_He barked at Horace which only made him angry. _

_And one night, she came._

_Cruella de Vil, the devil woman their mother had warned them about and she was every bit as wicked as they had been told she was._

_And then, out came the truth of why they were taken, why all of these puppies were there with them. _

_Cruella intended to make coats out of them._

_It took all of the willpower they could muster not to panic. Cadpig nearly collapsed but Penny managed to hold her up. Lucky didn't seem to notice, too focused on the telly to realize what was going on._

_They had to escape._

_Before Patch could put any plan of escape into action, a certain tabby cat had beat him to it. Apparently this cat had come to Hell Hall before and caused quite the commotion when Jasper confused him for a bottle of gin. He and his colleagues had received a message from London regarding '15 spotted puppies stolen.'_

_Patch had almost cried. _

_Their mum and dad never stopped searching for them._

_It took some time but all 99 managed to squirm through the hole by the door. The two blokes Horace and Jasper were too occupied by the television to notice them leaving. _

_Patch was just about to leap through the hole when an itching feeling at the back of his head that they had forgotten someone._

_Patch turned and saw, to his horror and annoyance, Lucky still glued to the telly._

_Before he could go collect him, the cat - Tibbs - shooed him away, assuring him that he would get him._

"_You'd better," Patch had said._

_Then they were running._

_And soon enough, they were right back where they started. _

_The Baduns decided to do them in one at a time and they were cowardly enough to start with the smallest of them. _

"_There! The runt! He goes first!"_

_Lucky's cries of terror rang through the room._

_Patch acted without thinking and he bit down hard on Jasper's hand, causing him to release Lucky. _

_Patch ran and that long-legged ruffian gave chase. _

_Eventually he was caught and that degenerate threw him straight into a wooden cabinet._

_Splinters and broken glass went into Patch's back. And a heavy piece of wood struck him in the head. _

_Total darkness._

_Then the comforting embrace of the Maker._

_And then the feeling of life, faint and distant, flowing back into him. _

_The sound of weeping. _

_Warmth all around, much like that when his mother curled up by him when he was cold._

_His eyes opened and there were his parents and siblings, all in tears, grieving for him._

_And how soon that grief turned to joy._

_Lucky nuzzled him like it would've been his last._

_His mother showered him with kisses._

_Penny did much the same. _

_Cadpig was crying hysterically as she got her turn to nuzzle her big brother._

_Two-Tone, being the tomboy that she was allowed her front to drop as she gave Patch some tearful kisses of her own. _

_Jewel was too focused on nuzzling him to call her out on her break of character._

_And then they escaped Hell Hall and Patch was left to be tended to by a certain Dr. Patricia, a medical greyhound, courtesy of the Colonel._

_Patch's wounds were wrapped up and he'd make a solid recovery._

_Cruella's return to Hell Hall._

_Discovering her plans in shambles._

_Burning down her home to cover up her crime._

_Her mind breaking due to nearly burning to death._

_Being found by Scotland Yard and the Radcliff's. _

_Returning home._

_Being doted on by his family during his long recovery._

_Moving to their new home in Devon._

_Cadpig being attacked by Neville._

_Listening in on Ryder and his dad._

_The farm being attacked afterwards._

_Biting Neville's nose when he threatened Penny._

_Neville swearing revenge._

_Going to a new farm for protection._

_Waking up in a pickup truck filled with sheep's wool._

_Falling into the Thames._

_Being rescued by Precious._

_Being awestruck when he first laid eyes on her._

_The most beautiful creature on four legs he had ever seen._

_Going to the circus with her and tasting circus food for the first time. _

_Who would've thought hot dogs would be so delectable._

_The tickle fight._

_Being chased by Neville._

_Protecting Precious from Neville._

_Being rescued by Ryder._

_Running all the way to the Shakespeare Theatre._

_Spending the night together at a dock house._

_Going to the Thunderbolt auditions. _

_Precious attempting to give him some barking advice._

_Uttering that pathetic squeak of a bark._

_The crowd laughing._

_Thunderbolt making a joke about it._

_Walking away in shame._

_Walking into the open street._

_The milk truck._

_Darkness._

* * *

_All those memories, they just bring me back to the same place. Getting crushed to death by a truck carrying milk. _

Patch shuts his eyes tight, awaiting the impact.

Next thing Patch knew, he was hoisted up by the scruff of the neck and was moved at a tremendous speed.

And the sound of the milk truck got further away and disappeared into the distance.

Patch realized he was still alive.

In a flash, someone had grabbed him and saw him to the other side of the road, clear out of harm's way.

One moment he was in the air and the next, he was laid back down.

Patch opened his eyes and he looked up to see who it was that just rescued him from death.

The sunlight made it hard to see but he could make out the sharp, upright ears and the narrow snout.

"R-Ryder?"

There was a scoffing sound as though the question offended his rescuer. "You met that old dog huh?"

Patch rubbed his eyes and then his vision was much clearer.

"Thunderbolt?"

Whatever pride was oozing from the show dog's features seemed to have run dry as he had a most humbled and sorrowful look on his face.

Patch was almost at a loss for words. "You saves me."

"Well...I am a Wonder Dog aren't I?" He didn't sound very sure of himself. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

Thunderbolt sighed. "Good."

""What...what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the-?"

"I was looking for you kid."

"Why?"

Thunderbolt looked downward. "Because...your little lady friend demanded that I should...apologize for making fun of you back there…and your siblings basically told me to do the same."

Patch seemed to straighten up as he fixed his _hero _with a surprised look. "What did you say?"

"I said your lady friend-"

"No no, the last part!"

"I said your siblings told me to apologize too, and they were _not _gentle about it."

Patch was no longer looking at Thunderbolt. His eyes were huge and his mouth was hanging open.

"You alright kid?"

"How many were there?"

Thunderbolt gave Patch a funny look. "Six. Why? Weren't you expecting them?"

_Only six?_

"No, of course not! Where are they now?!"

"Easy kid," Thunderbolt said, trying to calm him. "They're at my trailer. I told them to wait there while I went to fetch you."

"Alright, let's go then."

"Hang on," Thunderbolt said. "It's Pooch right?"

The pup's eyes narrowed by a fraction. "_Patch._"

"Right right, of course. I…" The show dog's look became repentant. "I'm awfully sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have laughed, much less make a joke about your bark. It was...uncalled for."

Patch's face softened. "It's ok, it was a pretty pathetic bark wasn't it?"

"Trust me kiddo, I heard far worse, even from pups your age."

Patch brightens up a bit. "Really?"

Thunderbolt nodded sharply. "Yes, far more _pathetic _as you put it. As a matter of fact..." Thunderbolt swallowed as though he were about to divulge something that embarrassed him terribly. "...when I was about your age, my bark was rather...well it sounded like a mouse if you can believe it."

"Really?"

"Yes, but my father, bless his soul, he put me through all sorts of practice in order to find my bark, my inner hero if you will. I could give you some pointers if you want."

Patch managed a ghost of a smile. "Thank you. I'd like that very much."

"Don't mention it. Now I believe there are some brothers and sisters who want to see you."

Patch smiled and he followed his hero.

* * *

Precious popped out of a hedge of bushes. She barely managed to keep her bandana from latching on to any of the branches.

_Dang it Patch, how could you just walk away like that?!_

She was on the sidewalk now, just outside the park. She pressed her nose to the concrete and tried to find the scent she was looking for.

_C'mon c'mon...there!_

Precious raised her head and ran towards the source of the scent.

"I ought to smack him on the nose for leaving like that and by himself no less." _Honestly, what if one of Nero's gang is nearby?_

Precious' heart began to thump when the scent led him to a busy street.

_What was that pup thinking?! Walking into an open street?!_

Precious paused as she detected another smell, quite new, one she had not known until today.

_How did Blunderbolt make it to him before I did?_

Precious looked about the area. The street was rather busy. Cars were stopped at a red light. She looked down the sidewalk along the gate fencing Regent's Park.

She saw two shapes entering one of the park entrances: one was large and brown, the other small, black and white.

"There you are," Precious said under her breath.

"There _you_ are."

That menacing voice nearly caused Precious to jump but she stood her ground and immediately and very subtlety inhaled the air. Her eyes opened a fraction when she recognized the scent.

_Nero._

She had to run. She had to warn Patch. Get him away from here. She had to escape.

But before she could make her move, the Rottweiler made his.

In the twinkling of an eye, Nero planted a foreleg on the girl's head.

Hard.

And Precious knew no more.

Before she had lost consciousness, she made out one thing.

"Your boy will be joining you soon enough, and then I will have my revenge."

**To be continued…**


	13. Reunion

**It took some extra time to write this. So far the only review I got for this story was in question: "chapter 13?" When you leave a review, please, please leave more commentary.**

* * *

**101 Dalmatians II**

**XIII - Reunion**

* * *

In a few short minutes, Patch and Thunderbolt made their way through Regent's Park to the show dog's personal trailer. It wasn't exactly the best trailer one could provide for an actor, but it was certainly exceptional, and certainly fitting for one of the the world's most notorious show dogs.

"So this is where you're staying?"

Thunderbolt nodded with a smile. "Not bad right?"

"No, not at all."

Patch stopped admiring the trailer for a moment and looked around as though he were looking for something, which apparently was nowhere in sight.

Furrowing his brow, Patch looked up at his hero. "So where are they?"

"Who?"

"Uh, my brothers and sisters?"

Thunderbolt became rigid. "Oh! Right." He looked about as well and saw no sign of them. He sighed exasperatedly. "They must've went inside. I told them not to."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Because it's my personal trailer and they could break something."

Patch shuffled his paws nervously. "I don't think they'd do that."

"No?"

"My Mum and Dad run a pretty tight ship. We don't misbehave if we can help it, usually."

Thunderbolt raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of which, where are your parents?"

Patch stared at Thunderbolt. "Were they not with my siblings?"

Thunderbolt shook his head.

Patch's eyes shot open. _He didn't mention Mum and Dad when he mentioned my siblings! If they're not here, then what in the world are my siblings doing in London?! Did they fall off the truck too?!_

"Something wrong kid?"

"I...I don't know."

Thunderbolt furrowed his brow as he studied the pup. "Are you lost kid?"

Patch's right eye flinched very slightly.

That was as good as any answer. "I don't suppose your siblings got lost too?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen them since we boarded the truck, the one we drove to the new farm."

"So how did you end up-wait! Hold that thought. I think it would be better if you wait for your brothers and sisters to hear this too so you don't have to repeat yourself, ok?"

"Oh, alright then."

Thunderbolt motioned to the door of his trailer. "There's a little door for you to go through. Go ahead."

"Don't you want to go first?"

"Nah, you go on ahead."

Patch smiled gleefully and he swept through the doggie door.

And he was in awe of what he saw.

Aside from the luxurious shag carpeting and the quality wallpaper, there was a sofa which was remarkably clean and upholstered.

_Even Nanny couldn't do that good a job of keeping a sofa clean._

And then there was all the Thunderbolt merchandise. There were life-sized dolls of the Wonder Dog. Portraits upon portraits of him in some fantastic feat of heroism or in a group photograph with very notable people such as John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, and even Elvis Presley. And then there were certain photographs of Thunderbolt with certain dogs that Patch was all too familiar with: the Rough Collie known as Lassie and the Labrador Retriever known as Old Yeller.

These pictures even had their signatures and paw prints.

_Wow. This is amazing._

And of course, there were figurines and trophies, dozens of them. There were action figures of Thunderbolt which Patch was tempted to play with but he restrained himself.

_Mum always said that it is not right to play with something that doesn't belong to me without permission._

The trophy case, which comprised of an expensive looking shelf, held many trophies dedicated to Thunderbolt's excellence in acting and heroism.

And there were many others from coffee mugs, cookie jars, flags, pillows, cologne bottles, and even those tiny dolls with the head attached to the body by a spring. Were those called nodders or bobbleheads?

Patch was so enamored by the interior and contents of his hero's trailer that he had almost forgotten why he had come here in the first place.

His siblings, whichever of them, were nowhere to be seen.

_Maybe they're hiding._

Patch called out, "Um...hello?"

There was a high-pitched gasp and what followed was shuffling which came from behind the trophy case.

Two familiar heads poked out from behind it.

Patch recognized them at once. "Lucky? Penny?"

"Patchy," Penny croaked. She was crying.

Another voice spoke, a small voice. "Patchy?"

_Cadpig's here too?!_

Penny immediately lunged at her older brother and Cadpig soon followed after her. They both crashed into Patch, knocking him down and with tears of joy, they embraced him, crying and laughing at the same time.

Patch was engulfed in a sea of nuzzles, kisses and tears.

"Patchy...I was so scared for you!" Penny cried.

"How...how in the world did you make it to London?!" Cadpig sobbed.

Before Patch could get a word in, three others squirmed their way out from behind the trophy case.

"Roly? Freckles? Pepper? How...why are you all here?! Did you fall off the truck too?"

"Long story," Freckles said. "And no."

Penny managed to settle down but she continued to nuzzle Patch. Cadpig however continued to sob, embrace and kiss her brother. Her crying seemed to border on hysteria.

Something puzzled Patch about Cadpig's disposition. Her tears were filled with joy but there was a quiver in her sobs that seemed to suggest fear.

_What on earth happened?_

Patch noticed Lucky as he approached. He kept it together but tears were flowing down his cheeks. "Hey Luck, are you ok?"

"Am I ok?!" Lucky said disbelievingly. "Are you ok?! Neville didn't hurt you or your friend did he?"

"No no, he didn't. He-" Patch paused mid sentence. "How do you know about that? You weren't there."

"We saw you on the telly."

"What?!" Patch sat himself up. His eyes went around the room anxiously. "So you all saw-?"

Pepper smirked. "You nearly getting crushed by an elephant _and _standing up to Neville all in order to protect your little _girlfriend? _Yeah."

Patch's ears burned red hot. "Wha...What did you say?"

"I know you heard me."

"She's not my...I mean...that is to say...sh-shut it!"

Penny looked unimpressed. "Pepper, leave him alone. And Patch, you shouldn't talk that way."

"So...let me get this straight, everything that happened at the circus yesterday, you all saw it on the telly?"

"That's right," Lucky said.

Patch gulped. "What else did you see?"

"Well…" Freckles said scratching himself anxiously. "Dad turned it off right about when Ryder had Neville by the throat. We didn't see it but we're pretty sure that he snapped his-"

Penny struck Freckles lightly in the ribs with her paw, cutting him off. He looked at her strickenly and she motioned her eyes towards Cadpig, who was looking quite frightened.

"Oh," Freckles said regrettably. "Sorry."

Patch gave Freckles an annoyed look.

_He can be so thoughtless at times._

Dropping his frown, Patch approached Freckles and gave him a loving nuzzle. "I'm glad to see you Freckles."

Freckles cleared his throat, trying to prevent any tears of his own. "Y-you too Patch," He stammered.

Pepper approached and started playfully chewing Patch's left ear as he often did whenever Patch was caught in some kind of trouble, much to his annoyance. "Nice to see you too Pepper."

Roly affectionately nuzzled up against Patch's side. "I'm glad you're ok Patch."

"Thanks Roly."

Lucky wasted no further time to pounce on Patch, causing and the other boys to fall over. They were quite literally a dog pile.

Penny and Cadpig, clearly amused, decided to join in and they pounced on the boys, causing them to cry out.

"You know, I actually missed doing this," Patch said out of breath but smiling.

As amusing as the reunion was, it was high time to get down to serious business. The pups untangled themselves and shook themselves off.

"That aside, not that I'm not glad to see you all, I am _but_ what are you all doing here? How did you get here?"

The six looked downward. They looked quite sad and quite scared.

Roly spoke up first. "We stowed away in Detective Wilkinson's car."

"What?! Why?!"

"We didn't have a choice," Lucky said. "The farm was attacked."

Patch's mouth dropped open in shock. "Who attacked the farm?! How did they find you?!"

"We don't know. They just did." Lucky's voice cracked. "These strange men tried to lure us into a Kanine Krunchie's truck."

Patch stared. "Seriously?"

Freckles scoffed. "Yeah, they think we're dumb."

"Are the others ok? What about Mum and Dad?"

"They're fine," Penny said. "Maddock saw to it, but we got separated after the cave in."

"Cave in?!"

"We had to escape through a tunnel beneath the barn we were sleeping in," Roly said. "And then they sent these attack dogs after us." He looked ashamed. "My foot got stuck and they were getting closer. And then Caddy caused the tunnel to collapse."

"It kept those attack dogs from following the others and gave us enough time to pull Roly free and escape," Penny said.

Patch looked to her sister who looked rather sheepish. "That was a really dangerous thing to do Caddy."

"I know, but there was no other way."

Patch smiled. "Well, dangerous or not, it saved lives Caddy."

Cadpig blushed. "Thank you."

"Then what happened?"

"Then we dug our way to the outside," Penny said. "We had to find a place to hide because the attackers were coming. The only place we could find soon enough was the trunk of the Detective's car."

"Who's idea was that?"

"It...it was mine Patch," Lucky remarked sounding rather embarrassed.

Patch looked at his brother with what appeared to be admiration.

_He's smarter than he lets on. _"And you weren't seen?"

"No, we wouldn't have gotten away if they knew where we were hiding."

Patch grinned. "Good one Luck." His smile fell as soon as it rose. "That still doesn't tell me how-" He stopped mid sentence as it hit him. "The attackers stole the car?"

Lucky, his eyes downward, nodded.

"And Detective Wilkinson did nothing to stop them?!"

At the mention of the good Detective's name, Cadpig burst into tears. Lucky did his best to console her and she wasted no time accepting his embrace.

Roly laid his head on his sister's back, trying to do his part to comfort her as well.

Penny, Pepper, and Freckles bowed their heads, almost as though they were mourning.

Patch was aghast. "What happened?"

Penny wouldn't look Patch in the eye. With tears, she said,"Detective Wilkinson is dead."

That struck Patch as hard as the wooden cabinet Jasper had thrown him into half a year ago.

He fell on his haunches, trembling. "Wha-What?"

"He was in the trunk with us. He had been attacked and tied up. He distracted the attackers so we could escape unseen. And they killed him."

Patch's mind went blank. He felt numb. _The Detective is dead. Who will protect my family now? Will Maddock and Beatrice be enough? And Mum...she must be worried sick._

"And you got away of course. They couldn't follow you?"

Penny shook his head. "We were not followed."

Patch sighed in relief. "Good. How were Mum and Dad doing after I went missing?"

Freckles, being the blunt sort that he is, answered the only way he knew. "Mum fainted."

Patch clenched his eyes as though he were in pain. "Is she ok?"

"She's fine," Penny said, giving a scathing look in Freckles' direction, who was covering his eyes, immediately regretting his words. "After we saw you on the telly, Mum and Dad went with Roger and Anita to come find you."

"They did?"

Pepper shook his head. "_Of course_ they did. They traveled a quarter way across the country to rescue us. You think they wouldn't make a quick trip to London to find you?"

"And leave the rest of you alone?"

"We were in good paws Patch," Lucky said. "It was just a bit of...bad luck if you will."

_I'd laugh at that choice of words if this weren't so serious._

Patch visibly saddened as he looked at his brothers and sisters. "Were you guys in the crowd when I...you know...barked?"

Penny looked sympathetic. "Yes."

Patch's face scrunched up with shame and embarrassment. "Sorry you had to see that."

Penny approached and placed her head against his. "You have nothing to be sorry for. All those people shouldn't have laughed. They should've known better than to laugh at a pup, especially that awful Thunderbolt."

"Yeah, where does he get off making fun of you?" Lucky said angrily. "He's supposed to be a hero!"

Fundamentally, everything they said was true and yet Patch couldn't will himself to speak a crossword of his hero. "It was only a bad joke and he apologized for it."

"Did he mean it?" Penny questioned.

"I think so, even if he didn't apologize, the fact that he saved my life was apology enough."

A pin could have dropped and been heard as it fell through the air.

Everyone stared at Patch in dead silence with looks of horror and confusion on their faces.

"What?" Penny said barely above a whisper.

Patch's eyes widened when he realized what he had just said. _Might as well come clean._

"It's not as bad as it sounds, I was just so upset that I didn't watch where I was going."

Penny looked incredulous. "What?"

Without thinking, Patch continued. "And as it turns out, your life really does flash before your eyes."

Now she looked angry. "What?!"

Patch recoiled. "But I'm not hurt, really!"

"Is this going to be normal from now on?!" Cadpig shouted, her voice breaking. "Are you going to keep putting yourself in mortal danger from now on?!"

"Caddy…"

"No!" Cadpig cried. "I can't stand this Patch! This more than I can bear!"

Cadpig was angry, more angry than Patch had ever seen her. More angry than any of her siblings seen her really. Not even Lucky or Roly have her seen her so upset. They were all quite put off by this sudden show of aggression, especially since it was coming from their dear little Caddy.

"I'm sorry for yelling Patch, but...I just can't stand this! How long am I going to live with the fear that you may not come back to us? How long do I have live with this knot in my stomach? Forever?!"

She was not angry anymore, she was crying.

Patch felt hot tears well up in his eyes as well. He felt terrible. Was Caddy living with this fear since Hell Hall? Was she keeping it herself, bottling it up, letting it fester all this time?

Patch looked to his other siblings, all of which had looks of terrible sadness on their faces. He looked back to Cadpig who was crying her eyes out. He approached her to hold her and she did not resist. She let everything out and Patch held her tightly, ever so gently rubbing her back all the while.

Patch's emotions were in chaos. He was tempted to break down as well but he refrained. He stayed on.

_Remember what you promised Dad, that you would look after them, be strong for them. You promised to be the best big brother ever._

"It's ok Caddy, it will be ok."

"How can you be sure?" Cadpig sobbed.

"Because I will help make it ok Caddy. That is my promise."

"But what if-?"

"No!" Patch said firmly. "Remember what we said about what-if's?"

Cadpig lifted her head from Patch's shoulder and looked her brother in the eye. "Y-Yeah," she hiccuped.

"What did we say?"

"That what-if's a-are useless and thinking about them is just a waste of time."

Patch nodded sharply. "That's right. Do you remember what I promised?"

"That you'll make it ok?"

Patch shook his head "The _other_ promise."

"That you wouldn't die?"

"Yeah and I am going to fight to keep that promise Caddy."

Cadpig sniffled and nodded in understanding. "I'll hold you to it big brother."

"Us too."

Patch looked to his other siblings, Lucky, the one who spoke, was in the front.

"When you made that promise Patch, we all agreed to hold you to it, remember?"

Patch smiled warmly. "Yes."

"Well, we intend to fight to keep that promise too, all of us."

The rest of the pups nodded vigorously. If their father were here, he would've noticed how similar their nodded were to his own when Roger rejected Cruella's offer to buy his puppies on the night they were born.

Patch almost cried but he shook it off. "Thank you, all of you."

"We're family Patchy," Cadpig said. "We're in this together."

Patch gave her a kiss and she kissed him back.

"Sooooo," Roly said. "Where is that girlfriend of yours anyway?"

Patch clenched his teeth as his ears started burning again. "For the last time, she's not my-!" He stopped short and calmed down. "I don't know. I guess she left."

"Yeah, to go looking for you after she gave Thunderbolt the what-for," Pepper said annoyed.

"Huh?"

Penny smiled knowingly. "Well, after you left, your little friend basically shut Thunderbolt and told him exactly what he was for mocking you. She shamed him and then demanded he apologize to you right before seeing you were gone. And then she went after you."

Patch gasped sharply. "Precious did all that?"

"So that is her name? _Precious._" Penny giggled. "It suits her."

"Two-Tone would like her," Cadpig said.

"Do you think Mum and Dad would take her with us?" Roly asked.

"I don't think they would have the heart to separate Patch from her," Pepper replied.

Lucky looked back the topic of conversation and quirked an eyebrow when he saw the way Patch was behaving. "Patch? What's wrong?"

But Patch was no longer listening. He was no longer looking at them. He became stiff. Nothing moved except his rapid-beating heart.

_She came after me?! After she told Thunderbolt to apologize?! How did he get to me first? Is he just really fast? Why haven't I seen her? Where did she go?! What if...what if something happened to her?!_

Patch looked towards the little door, the doggie door as the humans called it, and he bolted towards it.

"Patch?!" Penny called out. "Where are you going?"

Patch did not answer.

He leapt through the doggie door and he was gone.

* * *

"Hey kid, what's the matter?"

"Where's Precious?!"

Thunderbolt looked at Patch, confused at first. "Uh...oh! Yes, I think she might've gone home."

"She has no home! And there's no way she would've just left, especially after what she just did to you on my account!"

Thunderbolt winced. The pain in his paw from being stomped on still quite fresh, and yet it felt it had occurred years ago. He laughed nervously. "That's...hahaha...a pretty good point. Sorry kid, but I haven't the foggiest of where she went."

Patch glared at him. He shook his head and swept away.

_If I can just track her scent. She can't have gone far._

It took several sweeps and sniffs, but eventually Patch managed to get Precious' scent.

It was quite fresh but it was taking him away from the park. In less than a minute, he found himself on the sidewalk again.

And then something else reached his nostrils, something foul, like a refuse smell. It smelt very, very familiar.

"Uggh! Yech!" Patch gagged, wrinkling his nose. "What is that?! And why does that smell like…?"

Patch's blood ran cold.

"No," he whispered. "It can't be...it can't be Neville!"

"It ain't kid, that dog is a dead dog."

With a start, Patch whirled around to find a pure-white English Bull Terrier staring down at him with a manic grin, showing many jagged sharp teeth.

_I know that voice, he's one of Nero's bruiser toadies!_

"What have you done with Precious?!"

Tommy laughed insanely. "What did I do with Precious? I regret I didn't do anything with that slimy piece of vermin."

Patch growled. "Shut up! Don't talk about her like that!"

Tommy grinned. "Or you'll kill me? Like you did Neville?"

"I didn't kill him!"

Tommy's insane persona turned serious. "No, but you know who did?"

"R-Ryder?"

"That's right." Tommy stalked over Patch until he was right above him. The pup didn't move an inch.

"And let me tell you, Nero was stark-raving mad and even more than usual. He's Hell-bent on seeing you and your little girlfriend dead."

"W-Why?"

"Why? Cuz he blames you on account that you were the one Neville was pursuing before he was killed. See the connection pipsqueak?"

Patch stared at the Terrier. In his mind, he should've been scared and yet great anger boiled up from inside him.

"What? That's it? THAT WASN'T EVEN OUR FAULT!"

With a growl, Tommy pounced on Patch and placed a paw on his stomach, pinning him. "I wouldn't yell kid, it brings out the worst in me."

Patch was shaking now.

"Now then, down to business. You come along quietly, I'd hate to have to bite you."

What came next was the sound of a loud, high-pitched yelp. Tommy was dragged backwards by the tail and then thrown across the sidewalk.

Shaking out of his near-panic state, Patch looked up to see a familiar sight. This one had his back to him but he could almost make was it was.

"Thunder?"

"Guess again."

Patch gasped.

"Ryder?"

**To be continued…**


	14. Brothers

**101 Dalmatians 2**

**XXIV - Brothers**

00000

Tommy was not just angry. He was livid. "Oho man, did you ever make a mistake!" He bared his jagged sharp teeth and crouched as though he were preparing to spring.

Ryder did not even flinch.

"No," he growled, crouching as well. "But you did."

Tommy sprang and very swiftly, Ryder caught him by the belly in his teeth and with a spin, tossed him over the iron fence of Regent's Park.

Ryder watched as the Bull Terrier landed on the other side with a soft thud, right on his head. Tommy groaned before attempting to pick himself up, only to fall back to the ground unconscious.

Ryder turned towards the pup who stood beneath him, shaking like a leaf. "Where's your friend Patch?"

"He took her," Patch squeaked.

"Who took her?"

"N-Nero."

Ryder clenched his jaw. "Do you know where they took her."

Patch shook his head. His lip was trembling. He looked like he was about to cry.

"Be brave Patch, she is counting on you."

"Precious," Patch said firmly. "Her name is Precious."

"Good name. All the same, you must keep your head Patch."

"How did you find me so quickly?" Patch asked.

"I smelt you out...and...I saw you on television."

Patch raised an eyebrow. And then a cold feeling went up his spine. "The auditions were on the telly today?!"

"That's right."

Patch frowned so deeply it looked like his mouth might fall off. "Did anyone else see it?"

Ryder looked at him pityingly. "I really couldn't say kid. But don't take it so hard, my bark wasn't all that impressive when I was your age either."

Patch laughed. "That's what Thunderbolt said."

Ryder's look became severe. "Speaking of which, where is that show dog?"

Patch gave Ryder a funny look as though he didn't understand why he would be interested in his personal hero. Before he could even answer, something brown and black shot out from some nearby bushes.

Ryder, on pure instinct, protectively stood between the newcomer and Patch. But he immediately stood down once he saw who it was.

And he frowned distastefully at him.

And Thunderbolt returned the same look. "Ryder," he said curtly.

"Thunder, how you been keeping?"

"Peachy. Yourself?"

"Same."

"I knew it! You two are brothers, aren't you?"

Ryder and Thunderbolt looked towards Patch, who was wagging his tail with delight.

Thunderbolt sighed. "It's that obvious huh?"

Ryder scoffed. "We may look alike but we are as different as night and day."

"You can say that again," Thunderbolt said bitterly.

Ryder fixed his brother with a seething look. "And _you_ should be ashamed of yourself, mocking a fan like the way you did and on live tv no less."

Thunderbolt's ears flattened. "How do you know about that? You don't watch my shows."

"Maddock called. Told me he saw Patch on television so I had to see for myself. I tuned in long enough to see what you did after he tried to bark for you."

Thunderbolt said nothing. He just bowed his head shamefully.

"As much as I want to tell ya off little brother, as much as I want to say how you haven't changed, that's not what I came here to do. Watch Patch and his siblings for me until his parents come. I'm going to find his friend. And another thing…" Ryder bent his head to whisper in Thunderbolt's ear. The show dog registered it well enough and nodded glumly.

And with that Ryder dashed off, trailing the scent of his newest quarry.

Patch watched him go with a stricken look on his face. Thunderbolt kept his head down, still looking at the ground with shame.

Patch looked at him. "Thunder? Are you ok?"

Thunderbolt sighed. "He still hates me."

Patch gasped. "Hates you? But he's your brother."

"And my brother is a stubborn piece of work, just like our old man."

"Old man?"

"Our father, Old Thunder is his name."

"Thunder...whatever has happened between you two, it's not worth hating each other for it."

"I don't hate him," Thunderbolt said meekly. "But things have been said in the past and...it still hurts is all."

"Like what?"

"Never mind that Pooch, let's get back to your family, alright?"

Patch eyed him with annoyance. "It's _Patch_."

00000

"Shouldn't we have gone after him?"

"Cadpig, the best thing right now we can do for Patch is to wait here," Penny said. "Thunder's gone after him, he should be fine."

"Do you think his friend is ok?" Roly asked.

"Her name's Precious isn't it?" Pepper asked.

"That's what Patch said," Freckles said, scratching behind his ear. "Good name."

"But if she has a given name, doesn't that mean she has a pet already?" Lucky asked anxiously.

"She wasn't wearing a collar, just an old bandana," Penny said. "Besides, she didn't look like a house pup. Poor thing, how long must she have been on her own."

"I can't imagine what it must be like to be in London all alone," Cadpig said.

"If she's been in London for Heaven-knows how long, I'm sure she'll manage," Lucky said.

It had been more than several minutes since Patch had left his family. They had wanted to follow but Thunderbolt restrained them. Having heard of the danger they had faced in the past few days from what was said in their conversation, he had told them to wait in his trailer and that he would collect their brother.

Since then, they have been quite anxious. For they knew of the peril of their circumstances and for the moment, no dog in the city can be trusted implicitly. Not with Nero on the move, swearing revenge for his brother's death. If he ever learned that Patch's siblings were here in London, they'd be in graver danger.

They did not know this however, not yet anyway. But somehow, Cadpig, as discerning as she was, felt in her stomach, that there would be greater peril still. Though, she did not voice this aloud as she did not wish to frighten her siblings. No, she would wait until it was practical to tell them.

But she won't have to wait for much longer.

"Peppermint cream."

The pups nearly jumped when they heard the word. That was the code word that was agreed between them and their parents for if something unthinkable were to happen, that a password kg sorts would be decided between them and a dog they could trust if not family. Their mother loves peppermint cream so it was decided that that would be their code word until a new one would be needed.

"Is that you Thunder?" Cadpig squeaked.

"Yes kids, it's me."

Thunderbolt came in through the doggie door. And Patch followed him through.

No one else came through.

"Patch? Where's Precious?" Lucky asked.

Patch clenched his eyes and wrinkled his nose, something he often did if he were under severe emotional pressure, be it anger or fear. His lip was trembling but he was trying so hard to be brave, to not lose heart. "He took her."

"Who took her?" Penny asked fearfully though she had an inkling of who was responsible.

"Nero."

Freckles raised an eyebrow. "Nero?"

Tears started to drop from Patch's eyes. "Neville's brother."

Heavy silence reigned and yet it seemed quite loud to those who in the room.

"P-Patch," Penny whispered shakily. "This is a terrible joke."

"I wish it was," Patch said, his voice dreadfully hollow, as though all the cheer had gone out of his life. "I left her alone. And she came after me. And when her back was turned, he took her. Nero took Precious! And it's all my fault!"

Penny was immediately by his side and she said sternly, firmly but not unkindly, "That's not true Patch!"

"Yes it is!" Patch snapped in tears. "I knew that Nero would come after me. I put myself in danger and then she came after me-!"

Patch's words were cut off when Penny covered his mouth with a paw. "Enough Patch! Not another word! You couldn't have known what would happen! And first of all, how do you know Precious was taken?"

"One of his goons, an English Bull Terrier. His name's Tommy. I smelt out Precious and then I smelt Neville's scent except it wasn't his scent. Tommy all but made clear what happened."

"Why would Nero be after you?" Freckles asked.

"Because he blames me for his brother's death."

"That's insane! Ryder was the one who killed Neville! Wasn't he?"

"He was," Patch said nodding. "But Nero blames me all the same because Neville was pursuing me before he was killed."

The pups were mortified by this revelation. The boys all seemed to gulp in unison. Penny's mouth had dropped open. Everything Cadpig had feared in herself seemed to be spot on so to speak. She bit her lip, so hard it almost bled.

_No tears. No tears. It won't help._

Freckles purses his lip indignantly. "Sounds to me like this _Nero _is more than just strange in the head."

"Freckles," Penny said piercely. "This is very serious."

"I know Penny, I'm just stating what we already know…and frankly, I'm rather beside myself."

"You're not the only one," Patch said, eyes downward.

"What do we do now?" Roly asked.

Thunderbolt cleared his throat, getting the puppies' attention. "What we're going to do is wait here. Ryder left you under my care, at least until your parents get here."

"But what about Precious?" Lucky asked.

"Ryder is going after her right now. And in case you're wondering, he was the one who shared the code word with me and he wouldn't have done it unless he had your parents' permission."

"So Ryder is your brother after all," Penny said. It was not a question.

Thunderbolt sighed. "Yes...he's...my brother."

"You don't sound very happy about it," Pepper commented.

Thunderbolt pretended not to hear that. "For the time being, make yourselves comfortable but please don't touch anything, alright?"

Taking a moment to yawn, Thunderbolt shook whatever tiredness there was in his system. Being a show dog was exhausting after all. When he looked at the pups again, he saw that they were staring at him, with those big puppy dog eyes of theirs.

Thunderbolt rolled his eyes. "Alright, just put them back when you're done alright?"

The pups looked absolutely delighted, all except Patch who still looking downward shamefully.

The pups went in all directions to have a look about the room. But not Penny or Patch.

Penny remained by Patch's side, affectionately nuzzling him while he sobbed quietly.

Upon seeing the state of their big brother, the other pups halted with whatever Thunderbolt merchandise they were admiring or playing with, and they moved in to be by Patch's side.

Cadpig was the first to join in.

Lucky came next, who was followed by Roly.

Freckles and Pepper looked at each other and suddenly felt ashamed for thinking of playing when their older brother was so broken down.

Patch always went out of his way to keep the spirits of his siblings when there was trouble. It was only fair that they do the same.

"Patchy," Penny whispered. "It's nobody's fault, none but Nero's. You're not to blame and from what little I know of Precious, she wouldn't blame you either."

"But-"

"No buts Patchy!" Penny snapped. "I will not hear you blame yourself for this!"

"Nero, he'll hurt Precious."

"He'll keep her alive Patch," Pepper said. "As long as she's the only one he's got, nothing will happen to her."

"Nero wants you right?" Freckles said. "So that means Precious will be relatively safe until he has you in his clutches."

"What are you saying?!" Patch wailed. "That the best thing I can do for Precious is to keep away from her?!"

"Patchy calm down," Cadpig said barely above a whisper.

But Patch did not calm down. He started hyperventilating. "I have to save her! I have to-!"

But before Patch could finish his panicked rant or even make for the door, his siblings in unison sprang onto him shouting, "NO!"

Patch was immediately accosted by his brothers and sisters in the notorious puppy pile.

He wheezed, having had the wind knocked out of him.

Thunderbolt watched the entire spectacle with abject bewilderment. _I wonder if I should intervene._

But for some reason, he stayed put. All the better as children were not his speciality and he knew it.

Patch struggled and struggled and struggled. But he could not disentangle and escape his predicament. His siblings were not simply on top of him, they were holding on tight to each other, making themselves a single counterweight with the intent of holding Patch in place.

"Get off of me!" Patch cried.

"Sorry Patch," Lucky said through clenched teeth. "But this is for your own good."

"But...Precious…"

"Ryder managed to find both of you at the circus Patch in less than a day," Pepper said. "He crossed a quarter way across the country by himself to find you and he did. He'll do the same for Precious. He said that he would do it, didn't he?"

Patch stopped struggling and he slumped on the floor. His breathing started to return to normal and he relaxed.

"Ok," Penny said sternly. "We're going to get off of you. And when we do, you have to promise you won't run away again. We just got you back Patch, we don't want to lose you again."

Patch sighed. "I promise."

One by one, the pups removed themselves and Patch got back up, shaking himself off.

"Better?" Penny asked.

"Better?" Patch said. "Not really but I'm at least not panicking."

Cadpig approached Patch and laid her head on her brother's. "We're going to get her back Patch."

"How can you be-?"

Cadpig interrupted him. "Remember what you always said when we were worried about what-it's?"

Patch looked up at his sister and he smiled softly. "That they are useless and not practical."

"Right."

Patch chuckled. "You use my own words against me?"

Cadpig smiled slyly. "Naturally. But those were dad's words first, weren't they?"

Patch shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough."

The two smiled as they laid on each other like good brother and sister, enjoying each other's loving presence and touch.

The other pups smiled lovingly as they surveyed the touching family moment before them.

Until one of the more observant pups took a quick look about the room and then broke the silence.

"Where'd Thunder go?" Freckles asked.

Patch blinked and he looked at his brother. "What was that?"

"Thunderbolt, he's gone."

Patch looked towards the spot where he last saw the show dog and then all over the room. The Wonder Dog was indeed nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe he's just keeping watch outside," Lucky said.

Pepper hopped onto the sofa and stood up on it so he could look out the trailer's window.

"He's outside alright," he said. "But he's going to have a hard time keeping watch with his head down."

Patch raised an eyebrow and he looked at Lucky who was looking equally confused. They both got on the sofa and looked out the window to see Thunderbolt on his haunches, head bowed.

Lucky frowned. "He looks sad," he said.

"But why would he be sad?" Pepper asked out loud.

Patch furrowed his brow and looked down as he thought for a moment. Then his mouth parted and eyes opened slightly as he remembered something. "I think I might know why."

00000

"I have half a mind to-!"

"Perdy please, I'm quite angry myself but violence won't solve anything."

"I don't intend to hurt him Pongo but make no mistake when I cross paths with that...that...show dog, I will have words!"

Perdita was angry. Livid actually. Having taken a rest since last night's search in their room at a local London inn, they thought a little television would do some good.

That is until, they had received a call from Ryder telling them to tune in on a certain channel. Not bothering to ask for an explanation as they already knew the reason, they did as he suggested.

But in their haste, they hung up the phone before he could say anymore.

To their astonishment and joy, it was Patch. There he was on stage with his hero, the notorious Thunderbolt.

How happy the Pongo's were to see their boy safe and whole. But what he was doing there in all places they could not guess, other than the fact that if Thunderbolt was in town, Patch would not be far behind.

But even they were not prepared for what would happen next.

00000

"_Oh Patch, he's alright," Perdita cried joyfully. "He's in Regent's Park at this very moment."_

"_What a pity that Roger and Anita aren't here," Pongo said regretfully. "If they hadn't gone to Scotland Yard, they could drive us there at once."_

"_Then we'll have to walk, run even."_

"_It's a good thing that our pets have left the window unlocked and ajar so that we could leave if need be."_

"_Then let's hurry," Perdita said hurriedly. "Patch might not stay at the park long so we must be quick while his scent is still fresh there."_

_The Pongo's began to move towards the window but a rather odd sound stopped them in their tracks. _

_A bark._

_Actually it was more like a squeak._

_It was coming from the television._

_Pongo was aghast. "That was Patch's bark."_

_Pongo and Perdita both looked towards the television._

_On the screen, on the stage in Regent's Park, Patch looked like he had just been shot._

_Thunderbolt looking at him oddly._

_And then he started laughing._

_As a matter of fact, there was raucous laughter all around as if they were surrounded by it._

_And they were._

_The picture appeared to be shaking as though whoever was manning the camera was struggling to keep the camera still due to their own laughter._

_Patch looked like he was breaking down inside._

"_Oh no," Perdita whispered, sounding quite heartbroken. "Oh no."_

"_Good Heavens," Pongo said horrified._

_It only got worse from there. _

"_Hey, who sat on a squeaky toy?" Thunderbolt had said and on live television no less._

_The Pongo's gasped inwardly_

_Patch looked up at his hero with confusion and hurt betrayal. Gasping, he bowed his head. _

_Even though Patch's eyes were hidden, even though this was through a television screen, the Pongo's could still make out the stray tear that dropped off his nose._

_Perdita sobbed. "Oh my poor boy." And then she growled menacingly. "Who does that unprofessional brute think he is?!" she snapped with a snarl._

_Pongo's face was mottled with rage but he managed to calm himself before speaking._

"_And all those people and dogs alike, laughing and ridiculing a pup, and worse yet, for it to come from his hero? The Wonder Dog he looked up to? Despicable."_

_The next thing they heard was a wicked loud yelp of pain. The Pongo's placed their attention back on the telly and what they saw left their mouths open._

_It was that girl whom they saw yesterday on the telly. The little Dalmatian who accompanied their Patch. The one whom Patch saved from getting crushed by a circus elephant and then stood up to that dreadful Neville in order to protect her._

_She had just stomped on Thunderbolt's paw, silencing his laughter and replacing it with a cry of agony._

_Everything was silent until Precious started tearing into the show dog._

""_You think that hurt?! Can you imagine what you just put Patch through?! I knew you were bordering on egomania but I never thought you could be so immature! Do you have any idea of what that boy had gone through just so he could meet you today?! HOW DARE YOU?!"_

_The Pongo's open mouths seemed to drop wider. They could scarcely believe what they saw and heard. This girl, this stray most likely, who hadn't known Patch for more than a day was standing up to this show dog._

_Her words seemed to hit home as Thunderbolt's visage of insolent pride turned to shame._

_Pongo smiled. "I like her."_

_Perdita chuckled. "I'm almost cross that I didn't get to set him straight myself. She beat me to it."_

00000

"You don't think Roger and Anita would turn her away, do you?"

"Not a chance Perdy!" Pongo said firmly. "I heard how they spoke of Precious earlier. They said and I quote, 'What a darling pup. An excellent match for our Patch.' I'd say Precious is as good as family."

Perdita smiled but then sighed deeply.

"Are you alright Perdy?"

"Yes Pongo, it's just...our dear Patch is growing up."

Pongo sighed as well. "That he is, but he's still much too young to...you know, meet someone."

Perdita nodded. "Much too young indeed." _Besides, even if he were of age, it's still soon._

Her heart ached with sadness and pride. _My boy, my sweet, brave boy._

00000

"Ryder said _what?_" Cadpig asked.

"He said that Thunder hadn't changed at all," Patch said. "And when Ryder left, Thunder said that he still hates him."

Penny gasped. "Surely not!"

Lucky nodded. "They're brothers, that just can't be."

"It's just what I heard," Patch said warily. "There's more to it I'm sure. They must've had some kind of fight and never settled it."

"They should settle it then," Lucky affirmed. "Or else this separation will leech on them forever."

"They'll be so miserable," Pepper said.

"Seeing how Thunder is brooding, I'd say he already is," Freckles said.

"I'm hungry."

The pups looked at Roly with deadpan looks.

Roly chuckled sheepishly. "Well I am."

"Actually," Patch said. "A snack sounds pretty good right now. I haven't had a chance to eat since this morning."

"Do you think Thunderbolt has anything decent to eat here?" Lucky asked.

"I don't see why he shouldn't. I'll go ask him."

Patch leapt through the doggie door and approached the Wonder Dog. "Thunder?"

"Yeah kid?" he said wearingly.

"My siblings and I are hungry, do you-?"

"There's Kanine Krunchies in the cupboard just below those bobble heads of me. Help yourselves. Don't worry about making a mess, the cleaner will take care of that."

Patch smiled. "Thank you Thunder."

The show dog didn't even look at him. "You're welcome Patch."

_He got my name right._

Patch looked at Thunderbolt for a long moment. His heart sank as he saw how sad the Wonder Dog looked.

He wasn't sure how to react to this. This wasn't his hero. Nothing could weigh him down.

_Dad said that no living dog is invincible, not even Thunderbolt. Did I really think that he was better than Dad?_

Patch immediately went back into the trailer without turning back.

In a matter of moments, Thunderbolt's keen ears perked up and a most unusual smell reached his nostrils.

_Smells like trouble._

00000

"Wow, these Kanine Krunchies are fantastic!" Roly cried as he took another bite from the delectable pile of kibble on the trailer carpet. "These must be special or something."

"Just don't overdo it Roly Poly," Lucky said. "We might have to shake a leg soon."

"Caddy?" Patch said with his mouth full. "Aren't you going to keep eating?"

"Sure sure," Cadpig said as she continued to chew what was already in her mouth before swallowing. She seemed to be in her own little world as though something was nagging at her subconscious.

Penny knew what this meant, judging by how the hairs on Caddy's back stood on end and how her tail seemed to wag as though it were a malfunctioning metronome.

"Caddy? Something's wrong isn't there?"

Cadpig looked Penny in the eye, foreboding clear as crystal in them. "Yes."

The boys stopped eating at once, even Roly (Even he was not so gluttonous that he would dismiss a sense of foreboding from Cadpig).

"Maybe we should go talk to Thunder," Patch said.

"Kids."

The pups turned to see Thunderbolt slipping through the doggie door. He bolted the door with his teeth and then hopped onto the couch to shut the window's blinds.

"Thunder? Are we under attack?" Patch asked.

Thunderbolt spoke without turning his head. "Don't know. I smell trouble."

Cadpig started breathing fast. "He's coming. It's Neville!"

Penny was by her side in a flash. "Neville is dead Caddy, you know that."

"Then it's his brother Nero!" Cadpig cried. "We need to escape!"

"No!" Thunderbolt said firmly. "Where you are is as safe as you're gonna get. Just stay in my trailer and hide yourselves. I'll handle this. Patch, c'mere!"

Patch approached the show dog. "Yeah?"

"See this latch by the doggie door?"

Patch observed the little door and saw a silver latch above which was apparently some kind of locking mechanism.

"Yeah?"

"Lock it behind me and keep away from the windows."

"Is there another way out?" Freckles asked anxiously.

Thunderbolt looked at him. "No."

And he swept out the door.

Patch locked the latch in place without hesitation.

He turned towards his brothers and sisters.

"Quick, hide!"

00000

Thunderbolt stood his ground. He could smell them. They were closer now.

_Selfish coward am I? Well...we'll see about that big brother!_

Thunderbolt winced. _What am I doing? I'm an actor! I haven't been in a scrap in years! How many are there? _

Thunderbolt inhaled the air. His heart sank. _Four? Oh sweet mother of pasteurized milk, what am I going to do?!_

_If they kill you, those pups are done for._

Thunderbolt winced. _He's over a thousand miles away and I can still hear my old man._

"What have we here?"

Thunderbolt snapped out of his frightened stupor and saw that he was now face with face about four dogs that were clearly not here to make friends.

Three were Bullmastiffs while the fourth taking the lead was a Rottweiler.

"Nero I presume?"

The Rottweiler grinned madly, showing his jagged teeth. "Step aside show dog, I got business with the runt."

"How about _no._"

Nero frowned. "Get lost Blunderbolt, no need for you to get involved."

Thunderbolt grinned his signature grin. "A little late for that ugly."

The Bullmastiffs gasped sharply.

Nero growled. "You got a death wish?"

"That's a question you should be asking yourself pumpkin." _I really do have a death wish._

Nero stopped growling. Then a sadistic smile stretched upon his face. "Ryder's your brother, isn't he?"

Thunderbolt raised an eyebrow. "What of it?"

"Good. Boys?"

All three Bullmastiffs showed their teeth and then they sprang.

Thunderbolt thought to himself that he should be afraid, and yet he was strangely calm. _I must've knocked a screw loose in my last stunt. _

They were upon him, a whirlwind of claws and teeth. But Thunderbolt wasn't afraid. He thought to himself that he should be, but he wasn't.

He was angry.

And in a flash, his teeth found the neck of one particular Bullmastiff and he yelped in exquisite pain, recoiling and thus giving Thunderbolt some breathing room. He turned on the next Bullmastiff and started biting into his foreleg as though it were a knob of bone. The Bullmastiff squealed in pain and rage.

Thunderbolt was out of breath but he kept going. He was in pain. He was bleeding but he kept going.

_What happened to security? Where in the world are they? Don't tell me these guys snuck past them!_

Thunderbolt was just about to pounce the last Bullmastiff when he felt something jump on his back and then great pain in the back of his neck. He howled in pain and he tried to shake off whatever it was that latched onto him.

"Don't be quick about it Tommy!" Nero said with vicious glee. "Make it hurt!"

Thunderbolt heard insane giggling in his ear as though it were coming through clenched teeth. _What is wrong with these dogs?! This isn't normal?! _

The Bullmastiffs cheered as Tommy tore into Thunderbolt's neck with his teeth. The Wonder Dog bucked and howled trying to throw him off.

Nero sat up straight. "Pin him."

The Bullmastiffs acted without hesitation and together, with their size and strength, brought Thunderbolt to the ground.

"Hold him still," Nero commanded.

The Rottweiler, triumph gleaming in his eyes, approached the trailer.

"Patch!" He called out. "That is your name isn't it? I know you can hear me! I have your so-called hero and your adorable lady friend! If you come quietly, I'll let them go! If you don't, I'll kill you, Precious, your hero and your siblings, starting with the runt! And I'll make you watch!"

00000

Patch felt numb. _If I go with them, what's to stop them from hurting the others anyway?_

"Patch…" Penny said with an edge. "Don't. Even. Think about it."

"We have to escape," Patch said suddenly. "That's the safest thing to do."

"What about Thunderbolt?" Roly asked.

"He'll be fine, for the most part," Patch answered. "Those dogs wouldn't dare kill him."

"How do you know?" Pepper asked.

"Because Thunderbolt is too important to kill," Lucky said.

"That's right!" Freckles exclaimed. "If they killed him, those dogs would become outcasts for killing everyone's favorite Wonder Dog! They'd not only have to face Thunder's fans but his brother too!"

"Precisely!" Patch said with an enthusiastic nod.

The other pups stared. Patch grinned nervously. "I saw Thunder say that a while ago. I thought it was champion."

"Anyway," Cadpig said, seeking to move the conversation in a more productive direction. "What's the plan?"

"That doggie door is the only way out," Patch said analytically. "We need to make another way out."

00000

"I can't hear anything in there but I can smell them alright."

"I can smell them too Tommy," Nero said inhaling the air. "But something else."

"Yeah, smells like Neville. No surprise there as the kid was with him yesterday at that circus."

Nero rolled his eyes. "I am aware of that. But I'm talking about another one among them except it smells older, perhaps three days or so."

Tommy furrowed his brow. "Hey yeah, around the time that he was in that countryside in Devon."

Nero grinned savagely. _If it is who I think it is, then I can finish what my brother has started here and now._

"Patch!" He called out once more. "I changed my mind, if you refuse my terms, I won't start with the runt, I'll start with the one that had out maneuvered my brother on your little farm. Cadpig is her name, yes?"

00000

Cadpig covered her mouth with her paws and she burst into tears. Roly held onto her and she buried her face in his shoulder as he tried his best to console her.

Patch, seeing how distraught his sister was, bared his teeth and growled. "Why that miserable-!"

"Patch no!" Penny exclaimed. "He's trying to trick you!"

Patch didn't seem to hear her. He had started to slowly advance toward the doggie door until Lucky stood in his way.

"Patch!" He shouted. "Stop! If you open that door, we're dead!"

Patch's furious persona softened and he clenched his eyes as though expelling the anger was painful.

He sighed, letting all his frustrations out in one breath. "We stay here and wait. Where we are is as safe as it's going to get."

"What do we do in the mean time Patch?" Pepper asked.

"We keep quiet and hide. No matter what that devil says, we don't respond. We don't give him anything."

"Right," Freckles said. "As long as we stay here, we'll be fine."

There was a crash and the pups jumped. They looked and saw that the doggie door had a convex dent in it.

There was another crash and the dent was starting to crack open like an egg.

_That door won't hold,_ Patch thought to himself, his mind working like a locomotive. _Another way out it is then._

00000

Nero continued to slam into the door with all his might, snarling while doing it.

"Last chance Patch!" He roared. "Come out now! If I have to come in there, I'll make sure your brothers and sisters die screaming!"

There was no reply.

Nero barked in rage. "FINE! I DON'T MIND DOING IT THE HARD WAY ANYWAY!"

Thunderbolt, weak and hurt, peeked from beneath the Bullmastiff paw that pinned his head to the ground. "You...monster! If you touch them-!"

"You'll lay there and watch," Nero said mockingly.

The mad dog slammed into the doggie door once more and it gave way.

Scanning the trailer's interior, Nero could only spot one of the pups. The rest were nowhere to be seen.

Nero almost laughed. _No use hiding. There's nowhere to go._

The lone pup was trying to claw his way up the wall towards a window, clearing making a feeble attempt to escape.

"You're mine now pup," Nero snarled.

Patch turned around and he crouched down fearfully. "W-Why don't pick on someone your own size?" He stammered nervously.

Nero grinned. "Like you?"

"No, like Ryder stupid."

Nero's arrogant look fell into one of bewilderment and shock, as though ice water had been dumped on him.

His eyes narrowed. "Say that again."

Patch's look of fear became impertinent. "You heard me."

"I have torn dogs to pieces for less than that."

"You want a medal champ?"

Nero bared his teeth, he growled and spittle sputtered from his mouth and down his chin. "Keep up with the insults and you'll regret it boy."

"Rather thin-skinned aren't you?" Patch said smirking. "But what else can I expect from a dirty, no-account, yellow-livered, warthog-faced buffoon with the brain of a pigeon and the manners of a sewer rat."

"THAT'S IT!" Nero roared. "YOU'RE DEAD PUNK!"

The Rottweiler made a dash for Patch in a mad rush, determined to tear his prey apart limb from limb.

Before he made it halfway however, he heard a creaking sound, the sound of metal falling and crashing, and then a great impact.

There was a terrible ringing in his ears.

And then darkness.

00000

"Nice work guys."

"That was a very dangerous move Patch," Penny scolded.

"Sorry, I was short on options."

"And using yourself as bait was one of them?!"

"Well it worked didn't it?" Lucky said. "Dropping that trophy case on him was risky but what choice did we have?"

"We need to go now!" Patch exclaimed. "Quick! Out the window! Roly, you go first!"

00000

The Bullmastiffs still pinning the Wonder Dog down all turned with a start when they heard it.

"Did you hear a crash?"

"Yeh, I sure did Lenny."

Tommy approached the doggie door, which had been breached just moments earlier.

"Hey Nero?" He called out. "You ok in there?"

There was no answer. Not a sound.

That was enough for Tommy to investigate.

He hopped through the demolished doggie door and was aghast to see that there was no one sight. He was stumped but it soon occurred to him based on the fact of what looked like a large bookcase had crashed to the floor. It was clearly a trophy case judging by the trophies strewn across the floor and underneath the case.

Tommy inhaled the air and he gasped inwardly. _Those runts dropped a trophy case on him?! Oh, they're in for it now._

Tommy felt a mild breeze and looked up to see an open window opposite of the trophy case, just above a couch.

Judging by the smell leading to the couch and out the window, it was clear that the pups had escaped.

Tommy felt his blood run cold. "Nero is going to be so mad when he regains consciousness."

Tommy heard the sound of wood and metal shaking as it had been hit by an earthquake that was gaining strength. He turned to see the trophy case shaking as though there was indeed a tremor.

Tommy gulped. "Nero?"

The trophy case exploded.

And Nero roared with unfathomable rage.

00000

"Just keep running everyone and don't stop!"

"Where are we supposed to go from here Patch?! What now?!"

"Right now Pep, we get as far away from here as possible!"

"How did he find us so quickly?" Freckles cried. "He can't have just smelt us out. We weren't in London for a day!"

"I don't know!" Patch shouted. "Let's just get out of here!"

_He must've seen me on the telly and tracked me here. The fact that my brothers and sisters are here was just really bad timing. This is all my fault._

The seven Dalmatian pups, led by Patch, ran as fast as they could through the park, cutting through bushes and hedges in order to stay out of the open as often as possible in order to avoid being seen.

It was a miracle none of them got snagged by their collars, the ones that still had their collars, unlike Patch.

They finally reached the peripheral of the park but they all stopped short, skidding on the pavement of the sidewalk and bumping into each other, but narrowly staying out of the very busy street.

"No!" Patch cried. "Of all the times for there to be rush hour!"

Cadpig turned her head and she sniffed before she cried out in a panic. "He's coming! Nero's coming! I can smell him coming!"

"Don't panic Caddy," Penny said before turning to Patch. "What do we do now?"

"There!" Lucky cried, pointing to an opening in the gutter of the curb.

It was a storm drain, a narrow opening into the sewers of London. It was big enough for a pup to squirm through but too small for a fully grown Rottweiler.

"Brilliant!" Patch cried. "Good one Luck!"

"But that's the sewer!" Freckles shouted in disgust.

"No choice!" Patch replied firmly. "In! All of you!"

Penny prodded Cadpig to go first. With some hesitation, she slipped through. Freckles went next, much to his displeasure. Lucky followed after him. Roly, after much prodding managed to squirm through the narrow opening. Pepper slipped through with no problem at all.

Patch was about to insist on Penny going next until she shouted, "Here he comes!" And she not too gently shoved Patch through the drain. She followed after him but-

Penny screamed but her scream of terror then turned into a choked screech.

Nero had caught her by the collar in his teeth and was effectively choking her.

However, the reason he failed to pluck her out of the storm drain was because Patch and Pepper had caught her by her forepaws, preventing her from leaving.

And of course, Penny was using her back paws to plant a foothold on the concrete borders of the drain in order to prevent herself from being pulled out.

They were holding but Nero, even after being crushed by a trophy case, was still much stronger. The pups would not be able to win this deadly tug-o-war with strength alone.

"Hang on Penny!" Patch shouted.

Penny didn't answer. Her words were strangled at best and her tongue was hanging out and spasming like a maggot in a frying pan.

"We have to get that collar off of her!" Freckles cried.

Nero was laughing through his clenched teeth. The savor of managing to catch at least one of these pets was just too sweet and evil laughter bubbled out from him like a steam from a pot.

"STOP IT!" Cadpig screamed. "LET HER GO!" She sprang with all her strength and she latched onto Nero's right ear with her teeth and chewed on it like bone.

Nero groaned in pain and glowered at the pup. _Oh, you will pay for that!_

A burning pain suddenly erupted in his right eye as something small and sharp scratched against it and Nero immediately opened his mouth to scream and on reflex stood on his back legs in recoil.

Penny dropped into the sewer.

Cadpig had the good sense to let go of Nero's ear before she was taken out of the drain with him.

"MY EYE!" Nero roared in rage and pain. "MY EYE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

As Nero continued screaming, Penny was coughing violently, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you ok Penny?" Patch asked anxiously.

"I think so," Penny almost whispered.

"That was wizard Lucky!" Freckles cried.

Patch looked in his younger brother's direction. He was just sitting there, looking quite bewildered and staring at his right paw, as though he had done something he couldn't believe.

There was blood on it but it was clear that there was no wound on Lucky that he could see. _Did Lucky do what I think he did?_

"MY EYE! MY EYE! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN SEE ANYTHING!"

Nero was still screaming his head off.

"We have to go, now!" Patch said firmly.

And with that, the pups all ran down the path leading into the inner chambers of the sewers of London. As they descended into that place, in the distance, they could their pursuer calling out to them with grievous malice, "YOU LITTLE MONGRELS! I'LL FIND YOU ALL! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND EAT YOU PIECE BY PIECE!"

Patch scoffed under his breath. _His bark is certainly worse than his bite._

**To be continued...**


	15. Following a Trail

**101 Dalmatians II**

**XXV - Following a Trail**

00000

"We're lost aren't we?"

"No Freckles, we're not lost…" Patch continued on the present course in the London sewers, with the puppy party following closely behind. And then he sighed in defeat. "Yeah, we're lost."

"At least we managed to get away from that monster," Lucky said. "I'd rather be lost than be in the clutches of that drooling freak."

_Without question. _"Penny, are you ok? How's your throat?"

"It's fine," she answered softly. She coughed a bit. "Just need to...catch my breath."

Sniffling, Cadpig nuzzled her big sister, who gladly returned the nuzzle.

"You were brilliant Caddy," Penny rasped. "And you as well Lucky."

Lucky was shamefaced. "It was an accident."

"Nero was going to kill us Lucky," Patch said. "He didn't give us a choice."

"I think he's half blind now," Pepper said with a shudder. "Nice one Lucky."

Lucky said nothing.

Roly gagged. "It stinks down here."

"It's the sewer Roly," Freckles said. "Of course it stinks."

"So where do we go from here?" Pepper asked.

"We find a way out," Patch answered. "A safe way out."

"The stink of this place should disguise our scent," Freckles said. "That way, Nero and his boys won't be able to sniff us out."

"That means Mum and Dad won't be able to sniff us out either," Penny said sadly.

The seven pups walked in silence. None of them seemed to know what to say to that. The situation was bad, quite bad.

They were on the run. They were being hunted. Hunted by something perhaps far worse than Cruella de Vil.

A monster who meant to tear them to pieces, even if it meant pushing through a sea of blood to do it.

"Then we'll have to find them ourselves," Patch said.

"Or get them to come to us," Freckles broke in.

"And how are we supposed to do that Freckles?"

Freckles paused, wrinkling his nose, more in thought rather than from the horrid smell of their current location.

"I...I don't know," Freckles answered hopelessly. "We can't use the Twilight Bark, Nero would hear and come running."

"Mum and Dad would hear too," Roly protested sluggishly as he tried to keep walking, exhausted from the journey thus far. "They'd come running even faster."

"They most certainly would," Penny said in a low voice. "But then they'd have to go through-" She coughed, "-go through Nero and his dogs. Who knows how many more that-" She coughed again, "-that brute has at his beck and call."

"Penny, are you ok?" Cadpig asked anxiously.

"Oh yes yes, I'm fine," Penny said assuredly. "Just need to…" She cleared her throat. "...catch my breath."

Patch looked back at his sister, who was still coughing slightly. Despite what Penny said, he was worried.

Nearly being taken by Neville, being strangled in her own collar was taking its toll. They would need to stop somewhere and rest.

And to have a look at Penny's neck.

_But where? We can't stay down here. _

Patch looked to his right to see the constant flow of the sewer.

It was like a river of sorts, an unclean river of London's filth.

The smell was rather obnoxious, especially for a dog and their acute scent of smell. Thankfully, it mostly consisted of used water and water from the banks of London.

And the trash that was floating along the sewer's wretched pools…

_Humans sure do waste a lot of things. Why that bandana there is in great shape…wait...that bandana...I've seen it before._

A discarded red bandana was floating along the flow. It had a distinct word sewn into it in white.

What it said was quite plain even in the darkness of the sewer.

Without warning, Patch jumped into the murky waters.

His siblings were quite beside themselves with bewilderment at this sudden action.

"Did Patch just jump into that disgusting river for no apparent reason?" Freckles asked aloud.

"Looks like it," Lucky said.

No sooner had Patch jumped in that he came out with a soaking wet bandana in his mouth. Instinctively, he shook off the wetness in his fur until he was relatively dry.

Suddenly feeling a sense of dread, he looked to see his brothers and sisters giving him a scathing look. They were quite wet now.

"All dry now?" Pepper asked unimpressed.

Patch smiled nervously, bandana still in his teeth. "Sorry," he said through his teeth.

"Patch, what is that?" Penny asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance of getting wet.

Patch did not answer. He just dropped the bandana on the floor and unfurled so that his siblings could see the writing of it in the dim lighting of the sewer lamps.

They gasped sharply as they read the writing:

_Precious _

"Is that…?" Penny whispered.

"It has to be," Patch said as he sniffed the bandana. "It smells of sewer but I can still smell her. It's hers for sure."

"Where did it come from?" Freckles asked.

"I don't know," Patch said. "But it was flowing from that direction of the sewer."

"That only slightly narrows it down, there are about as many channels in these sewers as there are streets."

Patch turned to his portly brother. "Roly, can you sniff her out?"

Roly took a step back but he steadied himself as he took a whiff of the bandana.

He gagged before answering. "I can try." He stepped past Patch and with some effort, smelt the air.

"This way," Roly said.

00000

"How could you let this happen?!" Ryder snapped.

"Take it easy!" Thunderbolt cried. "They took me by surprise!"

Ryder's nostrils flared. "I left those kids in your care Thunder."

"Sorry, but how was I to know that I'd be jumped by a pack of mangy dogs?! They overpowered me! I couldn't take them all on my own!"

At some point, Ryder had stopped listening. "Where are the kids now?"

"They run off. Nero went after them and he lost them in the sewer."

Ryder inwardly cursed. _That will make them hard to track by smell. _

"And Nero and his dogs?"

"They ran off as soon as security came running." Thunderbolt licked a bite on his forepaw. The bleeding had almost stopped but it was still quite raw.

Ryder blinked. He was so focused on his doing his job he didn't even notice. "You're bleeding."

Thunderbolt let out a mirthless chuckle. "Hard to avoid that when you've been bitten. That terrier can really bite."

"Terrier? Did you hear his name?"

Thunderbolt craned his head in thought. "Tommy I think."

Ryder inwardly cursed again. _I took him down without making sure he stayed where he was._

"The Pongo's will not be happy about this."

"Who?"

"The parents of those pups!" Ryder exclaimed. "I called them, they should already be on their way here."

Thunderbolt gasped, almost too dramatically.

Ryder rolled his eyes. _Drama queen._

"What do we tell them?!" Thunderbolt shouted.

"We?"

"Yes, we! We're both in this aren't we?"

Ryder snorted derisively. "There is no we Thunder. There never was a _we. _What _you're_ going to do is inform the Pongo's that the kids fled to the sewers and what _I'm_ going to do now is find them."

"What about Precious?" Thunderbolt asked.

Ryder raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

"Isn't she in greater danger?"

"Relatively," Ryder said sharply. "But she's not your problem. I already know how to find her. _You _stay here and lick your wounds."

Ryder took off without another word.

Thunderbolt didn't bother to watch him go. He just laid on his stomach and laid his head back down on the pillow which was provided for him in light of the attack.

Due to the destruction of his trailer and his belongings, Thunderbolt was transferred to another trailer. While he was deeply annoyed for the inconvenience, he was far more troubled due to the events of late concerning the pups and the dangerous dogs currently at large.

_At this point, I think I'd rather dish it out with Dirty Dawson, that is if he were real and not a character on my show. At least he didn't bite._

The fight earlier wore him out and yet, the show dog was restless. No matter how hard he tried, he could not will himself to sleep.

_I can't take my mind off it. How did things go so wrong so quickly? _

He covered his eyes with his forepaw.

_Those kids, those poor kids. And that kid...Pooch? No...Patch, that's the one. What kind of hero am I? What kind of hero am I to make fun of a kid like I did? A fan no less._

He barely choked back a whimper.

_If dad could see me now, would he be proud of me...or ashamed?_

"Pardon me?"

Thunderbolt's eyes shot open and he inhaled a terrible breath, utterly startled by the speaker he did not hear enter his trailer.

"Who are-?!"

"You needn't stand up," said the newcomer. "I can see that you're hurt."

Thunderbolt tried to see who it was but then he realized he couldn't see. His eyes were clouded with tears of shame and frustration. He rubbed them away and blinked until his vision cleared.

Standing before him was a very pretty Dalmatian female. Middle-aged but still quite young. Perhaps a few years older than him though. She had a bright blue collar around her neck.

Thunderbolt gulped. "Mrs Pongo I presume?"

"The one and only." Perdita said with a certain bite in her tone.

Thunderbolt looked about and saw that the Dalmatian mother was alone. "Where is your husband?" He asked. "Didn't he come with you?"

"Oh he did indeed." Perdita said. "Pongo went along with Ryder to retrieve our son. Pongo thought it best I'd stay here and have a word with you."

Her tone darkened. "And do I have words for you."

Thunderbolt understood the meaning behind her tone at once.

"You know…?"

"About how you mocked my son when he came to see you today? Yes I do. I saw it all on the telly."

Thunderbolt was aghast. "You...did?"

Perdita's voice was severe. "Yes. Did you know how much my son looked up to you?"

"Not at first."

"Why did you do it?" Perdita asked with genuine interest.

"I got carried away in the moment," Thunderbolt said, not bothering to defend himself.

"What do you mean _carried away_?"

Thunderbolt sighed wearily. "The crowd laughed and I just laughed along with them."

"So you did it to appease the crowd?" Perdita asked pointedly.

Thunderbolt cringed. "It sounds awful when put that way-."

"Is there any other way to put it?!" Perdita snapped.

"I guess not," Thunderbolt said, sounding defeated.

Perdita frowned but then her severe face softened as she sighed. "There are many more things I'd like to say…but I won't. Because I realize that I have responsibility in this mishap as well."

Thunderbolt looked at her with amazement and confusion. "What?"

"Yes, I bear some responsibility just as much as you Mr Thunderbolt," Perdita said sullenly.

She sighed. "I indulged my children a little too much. Patch especially has been a fan of your show for as long as I can remember. In his young, naive mind, he has believed you to be a real hero and not an actor."

Thunderbolt blinked. He did not know that.

"It was very irresponsible to let it go on without telling him the truth. My Pongo and I discussed that we'd have to tell him but we simply were not sure of when to do so."

Perdita bowed her head. "Too little too late I'm afraid."

Then she straightened herself out and composed herself. "All the same, my husband and I will do everything possible to help our son through this."

"Is there anything I can do?" Thunderbolt asked.

Perdita shook her head. "No no, your apology is enough. Right now, there's something I need to know."

"What's...that?" Thunderbolt asked nervously.

"What did Ryder mean when he said 'the puppies escaped into the sewers' right before he and Pongo left? He said 'puppies,' plural. What did he mean?"

Thunderbolt gulped. "You're looking for Patch obviously, because he fell out of the moving van and ended up here right?"

"Yes."

"Well...as it turns out...while you were searching here for him, six of your other pups came here to London."

"WHAT?!" Perdita screamed.

Thunderbolt winced, his ears flattening from the shrill shriek of the mother dog. "They stowed away in the car which the men who attacked their farm used to make their escape and they managed to be dropped off here in London, almost without incident."

"W-What do you mean...almost without incident?" Perdita's eyes widened. "Wait. Did you say the farm was attacked?! The dairy farm was attacked?!"

Thunderbolt inwardly cursed himself for his bluntness. "I'm afraid so."

Perdita trembled terribly and her legs nearly buckled but she managed to keep herself from collapsing. "My babies! My babies!"

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

Perdita glared at the show dog as though she was trying to light him on fire with her mind.

"Right, stupid question."

"Who are they?" Perdita cried. "The pups who came here, do you know who they are?"

Thunderbolt grinder his teeth as he tried to think back on the names of the pups who arrived alongside Patch. It took him a few moments but he got them.

"Let's see...besides Patch of course, there's Penny, Pepper, lot of P's, Freckles, Roly, Lucky the little one and Cad something."

"Cadpig," Perdita said softly as though it pained her. "Why did it have to be her of all pups when she should be safe at home?"

She wasn't angry anymore, she was mortified.

"I'm sorry," Thunderbolt said.

"And Detective Wilkinson did nothing to prevent this?!" Perdita shouted.

Thunderbolt looked at Perdita sadly.

When Perdita saw how the show dog looked at her, she felt her blood run cold. "What happened?"

"Detective Wilkinson…he's…"

00000

"He's dead?!" Pongo cried, without breaking stride.

Ryder clenched his eyes, shaking with rage and anguish as he ran. "Yes, murdered in cold blood."

Pongo couldn't believe it. "Ryder...I'm...I'm so sorry."

"The important thing is that we secure the children and hunt down the scum who did this."

"How did they find them?!" Pongo cried. "The dairy farm was supposed to be a secret. Were we followed?"

"No," Ryder said. "Scotland Yard houses a traitor."

Pongo nearly tripped as he gasped at the guard dog. "Are you sure?"

"I'm certain of it. I suspected it for some time but now it is only too clear."

"If you suspected that Scotland Yard has a traitor, why didn't you investigate sooner?"

"I did," Ryder said with conviction. "But I never had proof that whoever was undermining our operations came from within Scotland Yard. But now it is clear that there is not only a traitor but one holding a high position within the police."

"But…" Pongo stammered, quite shocked. "But this is unthinkable."

"Indeed."

"Scotland Yard? A traitor among them? How is that possible?"

"Some men can be bought," Ryder said gravely. "And some can be cowed into betraying their own. Either way the only way those criminals could've found the dairy farm in so short a time is if someone tipped them off. And the only ones who had access to that information were the Inspector and his seven staff officers."

"Inspector Gordon?" Pongo whispered. "He can't-?"

"No, I don't believe he's involved," Ryder said firmly. "Gordon has been with the Yard as long as I have been a police dog. I've scarcely known anyone with such integrity."

"And his staff officers?" Pongo asked anxiously.

"I don't know them so I cannot say."

"All the same, the traitor can wait. My children are lost in the city and we must find them fast before Nero does."

Ryder nodded. "Of that I cannot argue."

00000

After a little more than an hour of traipsing in the sewer, Patch, followed by his siblings, were trailing after Roly who was sniffing out Precious' scent. They were making progress, but it was slow and the smell of their surroundings was not helping.

"This is a bad idea you know," Freckles said.

"I know," Patch said without turning his head.

"Patch," Penny croaked, her throat still raw. "I know you want to save Precious, but don't you think it's rather convenient that the bandana just happened to be floating past us?"

"Yes. Too convenient, but I can't let them hurt Precious."

"And just what do you think we're going to do?" Pepper asked.

"We don't have to do anything," Patch answered. "We just need to find Ryder as soon as we find Precious, without giving ourselves away to the ones who have her. And with the sewer smell should keep them from sniffing us out."

"Assuming that this new smell doesn't give us away all the more," Freckles said.

Patch stiffened. He hadn't thought of that. He knew Freckles was right. Nero and his dogs would most certainly look out for the smell of sewer if they were hunting them.

"Then we'd better stay in the sewer until we can find something else to disguise our smell with."

None spoke for a time. Nothing could be heard but the steady flow of the sewer's stream and the occasional cough coming from Penny's throat.

The unsettling silence of the sewer was then cut off when a deep, booming voice echoed.

"Hello?! Who's down there?!"

The pups froze and had to swallow their cries to keep from being heard.

"Who's down there?!" The voice called out in a commanding voice. "Identify yourselves?!"

_Doesn't sound thuggish. It sounds like something a commanding officer would say. _Patch did not wish to endanger his siblings but they most certainly could not stay down here in the sewers.

Patch walked past Roly, who was shivering frightfully, and he looked back to his sibling and mouthed the words, "_Keep quiet and still. I'm going to check who it is. Get ready to run._"

Penny gave a look of fearful distress but nodded with understanding.

The others looked deeply apprehensive, especially Lucky and Cadpig.

Patch strode forward toward the source of whoever called out.

And when he was a good distance from his siblings and he was directly below a sewer grate, Patch answered the call.

"Who's there?"

"This is Danny, the Great Dane of Hampstead. Stay where you are child and tell me who you are."

Patch smiled widely, his tail wagging and he had almost cried out in joy but held back.

And just to be safe, he turned to look at his siblings and remind them with a stern look to keep from cheering as well.

"Can you prove it?" Patch called back. "Prove that you are who you are?"

There was no answer.

And the voice called again. "You are Patch, one of the 101 correct? One of the Pongo's children, yes?"

Patch felt his heart lurch. "How…?"

"I have heard that one of you went missing and somehow ended up here in London. Also, I saw you on the telly."

Patch was not entirely convinced. "Go on."

"I also know that your parents sent out a message through the Twilight Bark in the fall of last year to find you. And you were badly hurt during your time at the De Vil place."

Patch gulped at the memory. A soft whimper was heard behind him.

"I escorted your parents personally to the city limits when they left to come for you. That was when I confirmed to them of your whereabouts. I hadn't known at the time that they personally knew this Cruella de Vil."

Patch released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Danny apparently heard this and took it as a sign that Patch knew he spoke true. "You believe me then."

"Y-Yes," Patch said hesitantly. "Can I come up?"

"Of course you can lad," Danny said. "Brigadier General Dan at your service and the good Colonel has had a great many things to say about you."

"You know the Colonel?!" Patch said with amazement.

"I do, but he's no longer a Colonel, he's been promoted to Brigadier General," Danny said.

"Oh, good for him." Patch licked his chops and detected a rather nasty flavor. He instinctively spat. He had almost forgotten he had taken a short swim in the sewer when he retrieved Precious' bandana. "Can we come up?"

"Of course you can my boy," Danny said. "_We?_ There's more of you down there?"

"Yes," Patch said. "Six of my siblings got taken to London too. We're in big trouble, like really big trouble."

"I see," Danny said, sounding both intrigued and concerned at the same time. "Very well, I'm very curious to hear the story. Steady now children, I'll be right down."

**To be continued...**


	16. Bad to Worse

**101 Dalmatians II**

**XXVI - Bad to Worse**

00000

"That's everything," Patch said warily.

Brigadier General Dan, the Great Dane of Hampstead, frowned grimly. "I see. You and your siblings have been through a great deal haven't you?"

"You can say that again."

"And now a dear friend of yours is now in the clutches of that horrendous villain called Nero."

Patch looked downward. "Yes."

"Stiff upper lip my boy," Danny said confidently. "If I know Ryder, he'll rescue your Precious in no time."

Still looking downward, Patch smiled weakly. Then his eyes widened when he realized what the Great Dane just said.

"What do you mean 'my Precious'?" He asked.

"Pardon?"

"You just said 'my Precious.'"

Danny tilted his head. "Yes? What of it?"

Patch stared at the Brigadier General, his mind reeling at the Great Dane's obvliousness. He grumbled to himself. _Honestly, she's just a...a...frie….a frie…._

Patch shook his head as he tried to set his thoughts straight. _What is she to me?_

"Patch."

Patch stopped shaking his head. "Yes Penny?"

"Are you coming to eat?"

As a Brigadier General and as a friend to the Pongos, Danny saw it as his duty and his pleasure to safeguard these pups in light of the grim situation that had befallen them. Upon finding them in the sewer grate, Danny had the pups climb out and directed them into his home, for the time being.

It was most fortunate that his pet was out for the day. He would not have approved of six pups who have been drenched and riddled with sewer filth to mingle within the borders of his property.

Since he had coaxed the pups out of the sewer grate, Danny saw to it that the pups were given something to eat. Given his extended absence, his pet made sure to fill a few extra dishes, both for Danny and Reggie the grey Yorkie who also resided at Hampstead.

Seeing the sorry state the pups were in, Reggie was more than happy to share his food with the pups.

However, he was less pleased of the apparent danger the pups were in and by association, themselves as well.

Once the pups were eating quietly, Reggie took Danny off to the side so that they could talk in private.

"What are we going to do Danny?"

"We keep them safe until their parents come to pick them up."

The Yorkie scratched himself nervously. "And this-this-this Nero, Danny? What do we do if he comes here?" Reggie sputtered.

"As long as the children remain within the house grounds, they'll be fine. This Nero cannot penetrate the iron gate."

Reggie nodded. "Right then. We just need to keep the pups from leaving then."

00000

"Patch, aren't you going to eat?" Lucky said, his mouth half full with Kanine Krunchies

The elder pup continued to look through the iron gate of the estate in Hampstead. He had his nose in the air, sniffing the contents in hopes of picking up a trace of what he was looking for.

He found nothing.

"Patch!"

The elder pup wasn't startled. Without turning, he answered. "What is it Lucky?"

"Are you going to come and eat? If you don't hurry, Roly will eat your share."

"Hey!"

"You guys go ahead. I'm not hungry."

"Nonsense," Penny protested. "You need to keep your strength up."

Patch ignored his sister. "I got her scent, I just know it," he said. "It's close, very close."

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Don't even think about it."

Patch turned his head. "Think about what?"

"Going after Precious of course!" Penny snapped. "If you go, you're just going to get caught too."

"And both you and Precious will be as good as dead," Freckles said.

Penny groaned. Freckles' lack of thought for his words were starting to grate on her nerves. "I'm going to have to agree with Freckles," she said. "If you get caught, Nero will have no reason to keep Precious alive. And you'll get it too."

"I know. But I can't help it. I can't rest. I'm tired but I'm restless." Patch seemed to be shaking. "Until I know Precious is alright, I won't be able to rest."

"Patch?" Penny said. "Why are you shaking like that?"

"I don't know why, it's hard to explain, but it feels like something is being held over us."

"I felt it too," Cadpig said, as she approached the gate alongside her brother. "Like something really bad is coming."

"To us?" Penny asked.

"I don't know."

Freckles swallowed nervously. "Do you think those villains will try to attack the farm again?"

"After failing and killing one of their own?" Pepper said. "I doubt it."

Roly took another bite of the mix of Kanine Krunchies and meat before examining the other dishes that have yet to be finished.

He stared hungrily.

Penny didn't bother turning. "Don't even think about it Roly."

00000

A pair of sky blue eyes opened, but very gingerly as though it were painful.

And it was.

Streaks of pain dominated most to all of her entire being.

_How long was I out?_

Her vision cleared and she saw that she was in some kind of cage, but not like any cage she's ever seen before.

The walls and floor were white. The one wall in front of course appeared to be a metallic grey.

To her side, there seemed to be an empty silver food bowl.

Precious frowned. _Didn't even bother to fill it. Then again, if they're going to kill me anyway, why would they feed me? _

She looked forward and as her vision adjusted, Precious realized that the grey wall was in fact the wall outside of her cage. There appeared to be no wall keeping her from escaping.

_They were stupid enough to leave the cage open._

In her gleeful excitement. Precious tried to stand but it caused a jolt of agony to shoot up her spine and into her brain.

She collapsed.

But then it occurred to her. It was too easy. Too lucky. Whoever put her in this cage would not be so stupid as to just leave her cage open. There had to be a catch.

Perhaps a trap?

Gradually, Precious stood up. Her legs felt like jelly. The physical pain started to subside. Now the back of her neck was simply sore and slightly hot as though it had a slight burn.

_That mad dog must've struck me harder than I thought. _Her heart sank. _I just hope Patch is ok._

Precious strode forward and she was just about to make a turn when her nose hit something that wasn't there.

Eyes clenching from the pain in her nose and her head, Precious rubbed her nose with her paw.

"What the?" She tried to go further again only for her head to hit the same invisible wall.

She looked hard at what was in front of her and realized, by the minor reflective surface of it, that it was actually a transparent glass wall.

Precious looked through the glass and saw that the metallic grey surface she mistook for the fourth wall was in fact a table of some sort. She couldn't see what was on top of it, but there was a white sheet draped over it.

_Where am I? What is this place?_

"I was wondering if you would wake up."

Precious nearly jumped. She knew that voice.

"Nero?"

"In the flesh."

Precious looked about the room. She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. It was as if the voice was all around her.

"Where are you?" Precious called out.

"Where I am is of no importance brat." Nero laughed menacingly. "You should be more worried about yourself...and your little boyfriend."

Precious choked. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Whatever."

Once it clicked what the Rottweiler had just said, Precious began to panic. "What did you do to Patch?!"

Nero laughed mockingly. "Not a thing, not yet anyway. But make no mistake girl, once I get my paws on that insolent piece of vermin, I'll make him pay for humiliating me."

_Humiliating him? What is he-? _Precious' eyes widened. Then she adopted a sly knowing look. "Oh. He outfoxed you did he? You tried to catch him and he got the drop on you? And now you don't even have the courage to show yourself because you're either too ashamed or you can't bear to show the scars of your failed attempt."

Precious laughed.

And Nero laughed with her.

It was a dreadful sound that cut through her own laughter and silenced her immediately.

Nero's laugh was deep, resonant and mirthless.

But above all, it was malevolent as though the spilling of innocent blood amused Nero.

It was a sound that chilled Precious to the bone.

And then it suddenly stopped.

A moment's silence was followed by the sound of soft footsteps.

Suddenly more frightened than she had ever been in her entire life, Precious backed away until she was pressed up against the wall opposite to the glass.

And then Nero showed himself. Slowly he turned to his head.

Precious almost gawked.

Nero's right eye was gone.

Despite the horrid mess of whatever had been done to his face, Precious could clearly see that it had been scratched.

"P-Patch did that?"

Nero shook his head. "Hardly. This was the result of my failure to do a job."

"Job?"

Nero gave a cruel, thin grin. "Since you don't have long to live, I'll tell you what's going to happen. Me and my lads are not here of our own accord. We're just following the orders of our master."

Precious' mind was in turmoil. "I...I don't understand."

Nero scoffed. "Have you ever heard of Black Umbrella?"

Precious didn't answer. She just stared.

"I didn't think so. The long short of it is that they were once a remarkable scientific group that worked for the Royal Family, beyond top secret of course. Their specialty was comparative psychology. That means they tested how certain animals reacted to certain testings."

Precious gulped.

Nero's smile became wider, taking pleasure in the girl's growing fear.

"They've made some rather excellent breakthroughs, that is until they delved into certain projects that were a bit...messy. Too...unethical. They were terminated, disbanded, and outlawed at once. The head scientist behind it all went into hiding, fled away so that he may conduct his research in private. Without the money needed for the projects, his progress was slow and doomed to fail. Until certain developments came about. The plight of a certain relative made it simple for him to secure the fortune of a family that ostracized him. And now here we are, at the pinnacle of greatness. Me and my brother are stronger than ever, thanks to the good doctor's experiments. We could've continued growing stronger too, if you hadn't gotten in the way."

Nero showed his teeth in a vicious, savage snarl.

Precious trembled.

"My brother is dead. I was crushed by a trophy case. I lost my eye. You all humiliated me. So you understand why I can't let any of you live."

Precious stopped trembling. She looked defiantly at the Rottweiler. "Are you going to kill me?"

Nero looked down for a moment, as though considering the idea. "No," he said disappointed. "Not yet anyway. The good doctor has plans for you…" He chuckled. "And for the remaining 92 siblings of that wretched Patch."

Precious felt cold. "What are you talking about?"

"We tried to capture them yesterday. We failed. But I just got word that the doctor's boys have just picked them up less than an hour ago. They're on their way here right now."

Precious felt the blood drain from her face. "You're lying!"

Nero smiled. "It's possible, little pig. I might be lying. But you'll see soon enough." His right ear twitched. "Ah, that must be them now. Listen carefully, you'll hear the barking any second now."

Precious sat still as she lifted her head so that she could hear better.

At first she heard nothing.

Then a sound that was too muffled to make out.

Then it got louder.

The sound of distressing barking, yipping and whining. The sound of many, many pups crying out in fear.

"Oh no," Precious whispered despairingly.

"Oh yes," Nero said, relishing the fear of the many pups at the mercy of their captors.

"What are you going to do to them?!" Precious shouted.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Nero turned to leave. "Don't worry though, you'll be joining them soon enough. But not Patch, oh no, I got special plans for him."

Precious collapsed to the floor and cried.

The sound of her sobs were drowned out by the panicked cries of the pups who were about to be added to her captivity.

_Patch, I know that I didn't want you to come after me...but now...now I don't want...just please...save me...save us._

**To be continued…**

**Sorry this took so long.**


End file.
